The Kiss of Death
by deathy-cool
Summary: The Dementors Kiss, its history is vast and mostly unknown, information lost over time the true meaning of it, has long since been forgotten by the people of Europe. The kiss is now used as an execution method, but it once had a more meaningful task. FEM Harry, Girl Harry & Starts Summer before fifth year!
1. Chapter one

_**Chapter one**_

 _ **I get my first Kiss**_

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

People have often wondered how Dementors came to be. Those foul creatures that bring grief and fear to people's hearts, which suck out all the joy and sometimes even the soul of a person leaving them empty shells. Those who are kissed by Dementors are more or less dead to the world with no way of returning. Eventually, their bodies die although that could take days, weeks or even months.

What people don't know or have long since lost the knowledge of is that the Dementors Kiss is not always permanent. At one point in the past, it had been used as a challenge to youth issued by their elders for them to prove their abilities as wizards. If their souls returned to their bodies then they were worthy of growing older and teaching the next generation of wizards. That knowledge has since been lost to humankind leading the Dementors kiss to be classified as an execution method for Dark Wizards and Witches.

It has been centuries since people in Europe have overcome the challenge of the Dementors kiss even if it was still used in more remote and smaller magical communities. Still one young witch might just get the chance to reveal to the wizarding world of Europe that returning from the Dementors Kiss is indeed very possible.

It was a dark evening in Surrey. Téaleon "Téa" Potter; a soon to be fifteen-year-old witch sat on one of the parks only usable swing seats. The others had all been damaged in some way or were unreachable.

Long black hair blew in the cool wind, as she swung back and forth just grateful for the break in the summer's heat. Two weeks had passed since summer had arrived and it had been a rough two weeks. With almost no communication with her friends and godfather, young Téa was slowly becoming more and more depressed.

Drawing a sigh Téa was about to stand when the sounds of boyish laughter and boasting caught her attention causing her attention to fly to it. Instantly her eyes landed on a group of boys, which included her rather large cousin, Dudley Dursley. Just about to look away, an action caught her attention and she watched as the group of much larger boys pushed a younger boy to the ground while laughing even harder.

Snarling angrily she swiftly stood from her swing, the sound of clanging chains catching the attention of the boys even as she stormed over. Considering most of the boys in Dudley's little group had begun to notice and at the same time fear girls they slowly began to silence themselves.

"Picking on people younger than you, how low can you go?" She snapped irritation clear as day in her voice. "It gives a whole new meaning to looser."

"On come on Potter, it's for a little fun!" One boy shot back making her snort as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"If it's amusing to beat up somebody then I'm rather happy that I find other things amusing." She shot back before bending down and helping the young boy, James Evans, to his feet.

Within seconds, his arms were around her waist and her own arms around his shoulders. "You lot are nothing but bullies, picking on children smaller and younger than you, it's pathetic, go back home," she snarled angrily and thankfully they seemed more frightened of her than she thought as they left scurrying away. Once out of sight she gazed down at James who was looking up at her with grateful eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently.

"Better, thanks for saving me Téa you're the best." James chirped making her smile before she released him from her arms and gave his hair a soft ruffle.

"Don't talk like that, I just help when I can, I know how it feels to be bullied by those bigger than you. Come on I'll walk you home, considering it's getting so late." She remarked earning a grateful smile from the boy before he pulled fully away.

Walking away from the park, Téa listened as James spoke on about what he had done during the school year; how he had joined the soccer team and the goals, he had scored. It was only when she felt a large dip in the temperature that she frowned. Looking around she placed a hand on James' shoulder stopping him completely.

"What's wrong Téa?" He asked yet she didn't answer him. She wasn't sure what was happening but something was happening and it wasn't something good.

"List to me James whatever happens do as I order you to do understood," She grunted attention still divided.

"But what..." "James don't argue with me please, just do what I tell you."

She hated snapping at the younger boy, he was probably very confused, but she had only felt this sensation when one thing was nearby and if it was here then that was not good.

"James listen very carefully okay, I want you to run as fast as you can. Don't stop until you arrive home and once there go in and lock your door. Whatever you do don't stop, don't look back, and don't come back out tonight okay, it's not going to be safe." She told him feeling the dreadful feeling of Dementors approaching.

"I don't understand Téa..." Stay in the light, don't go into the shadows and don't you dare stop understand James!" She demanded but just then, James' expression turned from one of confusion to one of fright.

"Téa... what was that?"

"You... you can see it?" She whispered shocked yet she knew she didn't have time to take that information in; right now, she needed to be sure of the younger boy's safety.

Taking her wand from her pocket, she swiftly summoned her one protection against the dark creature.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Thanking her lucky star, Prongs leaped from the tip of her wand making James gasp.

"Prongs, I want you to follow James, I'll try to lead them away, but you need to protect him understood?" She asked her patronus earning a nod of the stags head before she turned back to James. "James I know you're scared right now but please run, Prongs will protect you until you get home."

"But Téa what about you?"

"I'll be fine, now go."

With that, she pushed James in the direction of his home, which was thankfully away from the horrible sensation of the Dementors. With one last glance towards her, the boy seemed to see the urgency in her voice as he hurried to follow her orders running off at top speed. Prongs followed suit, sticking closely to his side. Watching him go she hoped he made it home before spinning on her heel and speeding of hoping to give James the chance.

Running across the field, she held on tightly to her wand, heart racing as she entered an underground passageway. Panting she was so focused on getting away that she didn't notice the pool of water and as she stepped on it, slipped on the wet cement. Losing her footing, she fell back, knocking her head on the tiled surface sending lights dancing across her eyes.

As her vision swam, she could do nothing but groan as a Dementor hovered above her. Unable to even pronounce a single word she felt her vision swim before everything went black and she knew no more.

...

Groaning weakly, Téa slowly came to, her vision slightly blurry as her head pounded. Slowly reaching up to her temple she placed what she hoped was a soothing hand yet it didn't do much to stop the pounding behind her skull. Slowly becoming more aware, she looked around her. The last thing she remembered was running from the Dementors and slipping on the hard floor. Whatever happened after that was a mystery considering she had blacked out and now found herself in a strange room she didn't recognize.

The room was large and rather imposing like nothing she had seen before. The room was completely made of stone with stone Grecian pillars going up at least fifteen feet still they met stone ceilings. The bed she lay on was large and covered in pillows, blankets, and furs.

Slowly pushing herself up, she hesitated before pushing the blankets aside and slipping out of the bed. It was only then that she realized that she was completely naked. Feeling her cheek reddening, she swiftly grabbed the nearest thing on the bed, which happened to be a fur blanket before wrapping it around her figure shielding it from view and the cold that had suddenly assaulted her exposed skin.

"Where the bloody hell am I!" She growled irritation clear in her voice as she glared around the room. "Because I'm going to kill whoever undressed me."

Walking away from the bed, she began to walk around the room before noticing the desk with a single book on it. It was the only other piece of furniture in the room bar the single door. Approaching it, she slowly sat down on the chair and looked down at the book. The rather ornate cover gave nothing to what the book was about, but it was clearly old.

Slowly turning the cover she was surprised to find handwritten paragraphs inside, curious growing she began to read hoping that the book would give her an idea as to where the hell she was.

 _ **To the unfortunate person who had their soul sucked out by a Dementor,**_

 _ **First, I would like to say congratulation; you got your soul sucked out by a Dementor! Now you have the lucky chance to fight for a change to get your soul back. This book was placed here to explain things to you. Call it your handbook considering you will be bringing it with you throughout your journey.**_

 _ **Now you must be wondering what is happening, what the hell am I talking about and where you are. Allow me to explain things as best I can. As you most probably deduced, your soul was sucked out of your body. When this happens, your soul is brought to a different plane of existence, you are not exactly in the underworld, but you are not in the living realm either. You have one chance to send your soul back into your body and to do that you must pass every one of the seven tasks placed before you. Every task will be different and the level of difficulty will increase. Before you begin though you must have noticed that, you are at this moment in a bedroom of sorts without any clothing.**_

 _ **The point of that is that you are going to take a bath before you set off onto your journey. Clothing will be provided to you but take note that this will possibly be the only clothing you get during your journey. This journey will take you through various tasks as I said, but those tasks are not specific to one environment, they could change from a summer environment to an arctic one. You will need to learn to adapt and survive through these changes.**_

 _ **For now all the information, you need to learn has been told you. When you are ready to depart more information will appear, informing you on the first stage of your adventure.**_

With that the writing ended and Téa was left not only horrified but in shock. She had been kissed by a Dementor. Nobody came back from that, she had always been told that once your soul was taken it could never return. Were these tasks always presented to those kissed by a Dementor and if so how could she survive them if nobody else in Britten could?

"But I have to..." she whispered, "If I don't Voldemort will hurt my friends, kill them even. Plus I'm only fifteen I can't die now. I won't die now." She continued this voice growing with determination as she clenched her hands tightly. "Like hell I'm going to just give up if I have the chance I'm going back to my body."

With that, she stood from the chair and stormed to the set of double doors. Pushing them open she entered the next room yet what lay behind them was a remarkable sight. It was just captivating. The room was huge, able to fit a large fifteen-foot long steaming bathing pool of water. Completely covered in black marble with red drapes covering the walls between large Grecian pillars. The bath wasn't overly deep but deep enough to cover you to the shoulders once inside. On the side were placed crystal bottles and pure black towels.

"This is better than the Prefects Bathroom at Hogwarts," She mumbled shock still trying to filter through her mind as she slowly walked into the room allowing the doors to close behind her. Allowing the fur to fall to the ground she hesitantly walked over to the bath and dipped a toe into it only to moan in appreciation. Since the moment she could, she had always loved extremely hot baths. It had to be almost boiling and could never be cold. She just loved the heat too much and this was perfect.

Stepping down she slowly eased herself into the bath before settling down and just breathing. The situation she found herself in was so absurd that she couldn't believe half of it yet it was happening and now she had to survive something that nobody else had, well at least that she knew of. How she was going to do that she didn't know but clearly she would have to figure it out considering it was either survive or lose her soul completely.

"I wonder if anybody found my body yet," she mumbled aloud just now realizing that she was most probably still lying in an alleyway, soulless.

...

Remus Lupin was worried. He had felt something off and normally when he felt that sensation it was in connection to a Potter and considering the only Potter alive now was Téa that was unsettling. He had gone to the Dursley's only to be informed that Téa hadn't returned to the home or had left early that morning. Therefore, with that and knowing that she often frequented the park nearby he walked towards it. As he passed through an underpass, though he suddenly spotted a figure lying motionless on the ground.

Heart clenching painfully he slowly began to approach until he was suddenly in a run. Falling to the figures side he swiftly recognized the unmistakable figure of Téaleon Potter, her long black hair sprawled out around her, her skin pale and her eyes unseeing. Shakily reaching out he took her hand to feel that she was still quite warm and after feeling for a pulse slowly tapped at her cheek. Still he received no response.

"Téa, Téa come on speak to me Téa," he whispered, yet the young teen did not answer back and he felt his heart break.

Knowing that he had to get her out of the alley, he swiftly scooped her into his arms and with a loud crack disappeared. Reappearing he hurried into a building that suddenly appeared between two others not even bothering to knock. The moment he did he was greeted by an older woman known as Minerva McGonagall.

"Remus, what on earth... good lord is that Téaleon!" The Head of Gryffindor exclaimed horrified as Remus gave a nod.

"Minerva you need to get Dumbledore, please and hurry, something's terribly wrong. She's not responding to my calls and I found her on the ground. She's not been home since last night." Remus hurriedly told her and although clearly hesitant, she gave a nod before hurrying away.

Racing up the steps of the house, he swiftly arrived on a floor that he knew held an unoccupied room. Barging into it, he gingerly placed Téa down before standing back. It was only moments later that he hurried the hurried footsteps before an elderly man entered the room with Minerva behind him. As he approached the bed, Remus didn't look up; little alone move his gaze from the girl.

"Téaleon..." Albus Dumbledore whispered voice soft yet grief filled as he gazed at the unmoving figure of a teen that was more like a granddaughter to him than anybody else had been. "Good lord, child what has happened to you?"

…

Swimming over to the side of the bath, Téa observed the crystal vials for a moment before gingerly picking one up. Instantly she found a small label that read shampoo showing that these crystal containers contained bathing soaps. Knowing that she would probably haft to wash her head, she put the vial back down before submerging herself completely into the water. Coming back up, she gasped in appreciation before pouring a small amount of shampoo into her hand. Running them through her hair, she massaged her scalp softly and just allowed the beautiful sent to wash over her. Once done she rinsed it and continued with the conditioner.

It didn't take her long to wash up and as she finished she grabbed a towel before getting out of the bath. Drying off she was surprised to feel just how soft her skin was after the bath. Wrapping the towel around her waist and the second one around her hair. She moved out of the bathroom only to find that the bedroom was still there, but now the bed was covered in clothing. Walking over she gingerly picked up a piece of clothing and raised an eyebrow, as she looked it over.

Whoever had chosen what she was going to wear for this journey was so going to get a piece of her mind if she ever got to meet them because really whatever this was it was clearly a one piece bathing suit done in black leather with a plunging neckline.

Looking at the rest of the cloth, she found a short-sleeved oriental style jacket done in reds, purples, and blacks with a touch of gold and white. Along with it was a pair of thy high boots covered in thin armored details and that had a heel and platform that was easily five and a half inches tall. Finally, the last item on the bed was a long cloak and a set of armored gloves.

"Somebody wants me to wear this..." She mumbled completely bewildered and somewhat embarrassed considering it was so revealing. "I guess I don't have choice, nothing else has been put out," She mumbled before allowing the towel to fall and swiftly slipping into the black bathing suit only to realize that it was rather more structured than a bathing suit normally was, especially considering it felt as though she was wearing a bra, without wearing a bra, and actually being more comfortable than any bra she had ever worn.

"Maybe there's something to this entire bathing suit sort of outfit."

Grabbing the jacket she shrugged it on and took no time in tying it together at the waist showing that it was structured and flared at her hips. The jacket went to her knees and was open at the front revealing her legs. Sitting down she grabbed the boots and unzipped them. The moment she did, she found a pair of long socks inside and gratefully grabbed them. Slipping them on she was surprised by just soft they felt, they were perhaps the best socks she had ever felt in her life.

"I'm so going to have to learn what these are made of," She muttered before sliding her right foot into the boot and zipping it up.

Doing the same with the other one, she stood up and wavered slightly, not used to the slight height but thankfully, she adjusted rather quickly. Grabbing her cloak, she wrapped it around her shoulders and finished with the gloves. Finally done she thoughtfully felt her hair before noticing a red ribbon holding a set of pillows together.

Grabbing it, she pulled her hair up and swiftly tied it into a ponytail. This would keep it off her neck and out of her way considering it was rather long.

Done she moved back towards the desk and took the book once more. Opening it, she turned to the last page she had been on and swiftly found the new writing written there as though somebody had come into the room and done so while she was in the bath. A bit creeped out by that she still began to read.

 _ **Now that you are clean and dressed you are ready to begin your journey to return your soul to your body. What lies before you are a series of tasks, every task is different for every person because everybody is different.**_

 _ **The first task is built on your fears, as you probably have not noticed a new door has appeared in your room, Here Téa looked up, startled to realize that that was indeed true as she was now staring up at a set of very large double doors that hadn't been there before. These doors lead to your first task. The moment you enter those doors these rooms will disappear and you will not see them again.**_

 _ **For your the first task is set in a maze, in this maze there are various triggers that will set up your fears, from small to big, the bigger they are, means the closer you are getting to the end of the maze and to the second task but be aware, they are not just your fears in the maze. There will be obstacles you will have to face, creatures, riddles, etc.**_

 _ **To help you in your journey you have been provided with a wand, this wand will perfectly match you, even better than the one on the outside world. If you make it past all seven tasks, you might be able to learn what exactly it is made with.**_

 _ **Good luck young traveler, I will speak with you when you have completed the first task if you complete the first task.**_

With that, the writing ended once more and Téa was left a little more than just nervous. The last time she had been in a maze it hadn't gone well, she had ended up going up against Voldemort and watching as a good friend was killed beside her. Mazes weren't, at this moment in time, a place she wanted to be, that she was certain of. Still she had no choice, to get her soul back to her body so that she could save her friends she would have to go into the maze and face her biggest fears.

"I will get through this maze, for them, I won't let them fight without me by their side," She growled before looking to the desk to find the wand that the book had indicated. Taking it she was taken aback by the warmth and comfort it brought to her, it indeed felt even better than her Holly and Phoenix wand had.

Tightening her grip, she took a deep breath and walked towards double doors.


	2. Chapter two

_**Chapter two** _

**_I so did not pick this outfit_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

Pushing the doors, open Téa felt her heart drop. Right away the maze began, it's imposing twenty something foot walls of bushes towering over her, casting shows that were only slightly lightened thanks to the lanterns that floated in the center of the maze paths. The ground under her boots was old cobblestone mixed with moss and grass.

Overall, it looked to have been made centuries ago and was continuously well kept.

"Right you can do this Téa, you did it once before you can do it again now, overcome your fears and you'll be stronger for it," She told herself before looking back into the room.

With a final goodbye, she took the first step out and instantly the doors vanished. Spinning around she found nothing but a solid wall of bush behind her. Oh, this was just going to be beautiful.

...

It was late at Number 12 Grimmauld place. Two days had passed since Téaleon had been brought into the house and no response had been received from the teen. It was with a heavy heart that the Headmaster called in one person he trusted to keep everything a secret, Poppy Pomfrey.

"Poppy I am sorry to have to bring you here," Albus, sighed while leading the school Healer up the steps.

"I don't understand why I was called Albus, but I can certainly try and do my best to help," She remarked slightly worried not only had the amount of secrecy surprised her but also the fact that she had been sworn to secrecy for everything. It was clear that there were very big things happening in this house that were of large importance.

"She was found two days ago and hasn't responded to anybody. We are worried and the signs all point to one thing, but I simply wanted your opinion on the matter." The Headmaster told her as he arrived on the floor and finally led the woman to what would be her patience room. At the doors, though he stopped and turned to her. "Inside there is another person that might alarm you Poppy, but I can honestly inform you that he will not harm you, he is completely innocent of all crimes he was accused of, and I trust him completely?"

"Albus I trust your opinion, please allow me to see who my patient is." She sighed tiredly and somewhat annoyed.

Giving a nod, Albus gently opened the door, slipping in and allowing her to follow before closing it. Once inside it took Poppy a moment to adjust to the dark room yet when she did, she was taken aback by what was inside.

The room she found herself in was a beautiful room, not overly large but a good enough size to host a queen size bed before a large fireplace. The room was decorated in reds and gold's while the bed was covered in pillows and blankets. Sitting beside the bed on an armchair was a single figure. He was tall, not overly young, but younger than she was. His hair was black and went to his shoulders yet was neatly trimmed. Dressed in somewhat older attire he looked rather well although it was clearly he was not. The man was somebody she swiftly recognized and one look to the Headmaster told her that she was indeed seeing Sirius Black in person.

"Sirius I've brought Poppy," The headmaster greeted tenderly making the man gaze up showing a slightly gaunt appearance and shallow eyes filled with grief.

"Sirius Black... I can honestly say that you have looked better," she greeted somewhat taken aback by the man's appearance.

"Yeah well when my goddaughter's health is on the line I don't take well to it," He grunted before turning his attention back to the bed.

Hesitating only a moment, Poppy moved towards it and instantly was greeted with what appeared to be the slumbering figure of Téaleon Potter, a young witch she often found in her Hospital wing for one injury or another. Still at this moment she looked pale, almost ghostly so, and although she was breathing it appeared as though she was sleeping.

"She's not responded to anything, we've tried to wake her, and when her eyes are open she only stares into space, as though not seeing anything," Sirius told her, voice low and empty. "It's as though she... she isn't there."

"How was she found?" She questioned more than a little worried by the man's description.

"Remus Lupin found her in an alleyway, unmoving and also unresponsive." The Headmaster answered clearly worried. "Poppy please tell me it is not what we dread it to be,"

"I have one way to find out," She murmured before approaching her young patient and gingerly running her wand over her. With shaking hand, she watched as the young witch glowed a dark grey color.

The moment she saw it her shoulders slumped and she felt the tears building in her eyes. How could this happen? Téaleon lived nowhere near any location where those foul creatures should be, she lived in a muggle town far from any magical community.

"Poppy…" "The spell I just performed was invented by a man known as Albert Potter, yes he was Téaleon's ancestor," She stated interrupting the aged Headmaster before he could continue. "It was invented to discern if a person was kissed or not. I'm afraid to say that Téaleon Potter has indeed been kissed by a Dementor."

Her words seemed to have an immediate effect as the escaped convict's shoulders slumped while his head fell down between his shoulders. His grip on his goddaughters hand tightened and she knew by the soft shaking of his shoulders that he was holding in the sobs that wanted to escape. Beside her, the Headmaster's entire figure grew tense and she saw him take a deep breath while closing his eyes.

This changed everything, she thought, if He Who Must Not Be Named had indeed returned to life, then things were vastly different. When he made his presence known, everybody would look towards Téaleon only to realize that she would be unable to save them. That she could not be the savior anymore because nobody had been able to save her.

"But she… she can fight them!" Sirius whispered. "She can produce a Patronus, Remus taught her, why didn't she do it! Why didn't she conjure one to defend herself against the Dementor!" Now he was shouting, his eyes filled with a flicker of insanity as he looked at them.

"I don't know Sirius, I do not know." Albus murmured sounding every bit his age. "But I do know one thing; Voldemort cannot learn that this has happened to her. Nobody can learn that she has been kissed until the last possible moment. It is absolutely necessary."

"What will you do Headmaster; she's to return to Hogwarts for her fifth year, if she doesn't arrive, people will talk, some will accuse her of being a coward…" "I do not know Poppy, but I will come up with a something to tell the wizarding community until then this does not leave the house."

Approaching Sirius, the Headmaster placed a ginger hand on his shoulder before squeezing it. After soft words, he led Poppy from the room and back into the hallway.

"What will be the best ways to treat her for now," He questioned making her sigh.

"The life of a person who has been kissed by a Dementor is not truly known. Some have last days, others, weeks and some months but nobody has ever made it past a year. All you can truly do is make her as comfortable as possible. Keep her hydrated, soft foods because she won't be able to chew, move her legs and arms a bit to keep her from getting bed sores. Apart from that Albus it will only be time before she fully passes away." Pomfrey answered before taking a deep breath and brushing the tears from her eyes. "Poor thing didn't deserve this; I hope you find out who did this Albus, who sent that beast at her."

"We will do everything we can to find the truth Poppy, for now I cannot stress how much this has to be kept silent. Nobody must learn the truth outside of this organization." Albus gently pushed before leading the woman down to the main level. "Thank you for coming Poppy, I am just sad that you had to confirm such a tragic diagnosis."

With a soft sniffle, Poppy gave a nod before leaving the property. As the door closed behind her, it left the Headmaster to himself. He would have to inform the Order and the children, but the children would have to be taught things to shield them from revealing the truth. Until absolutely necessary, Téaleon's condition could not be leaked at all.

"Oh Téaleon," he sighed tiredly before making his way downstairs. Upon arriving, he found the kitchen eerily silent, those gathered varied in ages and occupations still all the people inside the room were just waiting to hear the news on the young witch upstairs.

"Albus… what… what did Pomfrey say?" Remus asked, voice cracking only slightly.

The poor man had yet to truly sleep since he had found the young girl in the underpass. He was thinner and paler, he hadn't eaten quite enough as he could only stomach a few crackers. Albus couldn't blame the poor man, one of his best friends child was laying unresponsive.

"I'm afraid the diagnosis has confirmed our deepest fears. Téaleon Lily Potter will no longer face the world with her vibrancy and courage." He announced and instantly the gasp's, and cries of sorrow were instant.

Poor Molly Weasley burst into uncontrollable tears while turning into her husband's embrace. Arthur closed his own eyes as pain flashed over his features. Young Hermione and Ginny had both burst into tears, the eldest turning to hug her now only best friend while the youngest Weasley was engulfed into her oldest brother's arms.

"But she knew the Patronus charm, she had her wand in her hands. Why… why didn't she produce it…" Remus whispered voice filled with grief as he buried his face in his hands. "I taught her that spell, she can perform it… I know she can."

…

Dodging a breath of fire Téaleon cursed. She thought this maze was supposed to put her against her fears. Sure she wasn't overly fond of Dragons, but still she had faced them before and lived. Putting her against another one was just being horrible.

Things had been going really well until she had entered a circular area of the maze. Until that point, she had only encountered a few of her old fears, ones she had held when she was younger. A fear of the dark, something she hadn't feared in a long time, fear of small spaces which she had swiftly concurred. Now it seemed like she had a small fear still of dragons, which who could blame her, everybody had a fucking fear of dragons.

"Oh, I am so never going up against a dragon ever again," She grunted before ducking once more as fire was blown her way.

She needed a plan so that she could get to the exit point of the maze and get out of here, but really magic was almost futile against Dragons, considering their skin was so thick. It took dozens of people to subdue them in the Reserves.

"I just need to distract or subdue him long enough to run for it," She muttered before looking around.

The only thing that was in the area except the dragon were large stones to hide behind. She had never transfigured stone before, especially of this quantity. Still there wasn't anything else that she could use, the stone was the only thing available.

"Alright, time to make McGonagall proud," She growled before spinning and kneeling before the stone.

Taking her wand, she took a deep breath and thought about what she wanted to transfigure the stone into. It would have to be able to give her enough protection against the fire. It would have to be long enough to reach the exit point.

Slowly moving her wand, she began to morph the stone trying to ignore the roar of the dragon even as it blew fire at her. As sweat began to form she continued on even opening her eyes to watch as the stone before her, morphed and transformed into something completely different, a wall that was tall enough that she could hurry behind it towards the exit.

"Now it just has to survive," she muttered before looking towards the dragon. Instantly she noticed how the large reptile seemed even more agitated and its tail was waving from side to side. Knowing she didn't have much time, she began to run.

It didn't take long before she heard the sound of stone being broken making her run just that little bit faster. Feeling the prickling sensation on the back of her neck, she hurriedly dived, sliding through the entrance path just as fire appeared behind her. Thankfully, the fire could not pass by the entrance making her safe.

Shakily pushing herself back, she rested against the wall. Dragons were so not her thing and she really hoped never to have to face another again. She was also going to give Charlie a piece of her mind about working with them and have him checked for mental defects of sorts.

"Dragons are a pain in my ass," She muttered before shakily getting to her feet.

Looking around she looked back once before continuing the trek through the maze. As she walked, she couldn't help but think of those left behind in the real world, had her body been found? If so by whom, was it the muggle police, had she been placed in a muggle hospital or had it been the magical world that found her? Did her friends know that a Dementor had kissed her? Did Sirius know?

"I can't think about that right now, I have to get through this to get back to them," She grunted while grasping her wand just a tad tighter.

...

The Hogwarts Express just seemed a tad sadder this year. Perhaps it was the fact that their best friend wasn't with them on top of the fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, but everything seemed bleaker.

Already they had received numerous looks from other students all noticing the absence of their black-haired friend.

What was even more nerve wrecking was the fact that they had both been made Gryffindor Prefects.

"You both be good this year alright, I don't want to hear about either of you getting into trouble." Molly Weasley chided them making them smile weakly.

"I know this year will be very different but know that she would want you both to do your very best," Arthur murmured to them before drawing a deep breath. "I'm sure she would be very proud of her two best friends for becoming prefects."

"Keep your heads down you two, and if you need any help in your Defence classes simply send me a letter, I would be glad to help in any way I can." Remus declared making both teens smile in thanks.

"We're just hoping we'll get a competent Defence Professor," Ron grunted and as the train gave its first whistle they all were hurried onto the train.

Making their way to the Prefects Compartment as ordered they were both unsettled to find Draco Malfoy sitting in the compartment with Pansy Parkinson. Looking at each other, they heaved sighs before taking their own seats as far away from the duo as possible.

When the other prefects joined the meeting began. By the end, both Ron and Hermione wanted nothing more than to leave the compartment and they did as swiftly as possible.

Finding their own compartment was harder then thought but finally they found one that only held three people, Neville Longbottom, Ginny and another student who both hadn't personally met.

"Ron, Hermione, Téa isn't here. She must have found her own compartment." Neville remarked the three other Gryffindors tense.

"Téa isn't coming to Hogwarts this year Nev. She's... she chose to study abroad this year." Hermione announced while sitting down.

This made Neville's eyes widen clearly surprised by this information.

"She'll be learning a lot of new things," Hermione whispered while Ron stayed silent.

...

It would surprise a lot of people, after all she was a brilliant flyer, loved being on a broom and playing quidditch but, in fact, she was absolutely petrified of heights.

Yes, she Téalean Potter was petrified of heights, ironic wasn't it. Yet standing here on the edge of a cliff looking at a very narrow walking bridge that must have been at least fifty feet from the ground the thought had suddenly entered the mind.

"Oh, this is just brilliant, a fear I never even knew I could fucking possess." She grunted before looking down within seconds she straightened back up regretting the choice evidently. "Right, you have to do this. This is the only way I can get through this maze. If the tasks are getting harder then it means I'm getting closer."

Even telling herself that seemed to keep her courage at bay and really since when was she scared of heights?

"I can figure that out later, right now let's get over this extremely thin bridge wearing nothing but a pair of platform six-inch heeled boots." She moaned before taking one shaky step forward.

Taking another, she gulped as rocks slipped off and fell into the empty abyss. Trying not to look down she looked a head yet that didn't seem to help her anymore either considering the path across the bridge was a lengthy one.

"Oh I am so going to fucking die," she moaned and before she could look back, she began to walk, arms outstretched to try to keep a sense of balance she went as slowly as she could.

Half way across the bridge a loud cracking noise had her freezing before she slowly turned around. What she found made her want to cry. The stone bridge she was ever so slowly crossing was cracking and breaking.

"I really, really hate this maze," she moaned and as she turned more crunching was heard.

Before her own section of bridge began to fall, she took a deep breath and against her better judgement began to run. As she ran though the bridge seemed to only fall quicker and just as she was about to arrive at the end she felt the stone under her feet give away. Panic racing through her heart she jumped.

Everything around her seemed to slow as she extended her arms, hoping beyond hope that she made it and as she fell, her hands grasped onto the edge of the pillar and she held on as tight as she could. Feeling her body slam against the hard stone a groan left her lips but she was still there, still hanging on.

"Holly shit," she panted while looking up at the stone pillar she was holding onto.

Struggling to pull herself up she panted with effort before finally slumping down onto the solid and safe ground of the pillar. Looking up at the completely black sky above she tried to catch her breath. This maze was getting more and more dangerous. Not to mention it was showing her thing she hadn't known she had been afraid of. She didn't know what was to come next but she had a feeling that she was most definitely not going to like it.


	3. Chapter three

_**Chapter three**_

 _ _ **Insane, delusional and crazy, those are all qualities for a great Professor right?**__

 _ _ **...**__

* * *

...

Arriving at the Bottom of the pillar, Téa looked around. She was back in the tall shrubbery walls of the maze and had two choices. Either she could go left or she could go right.

Nervously biting her bottom lip, she thought about what to do before taking her wand out and raising her hand with it lying flat on her palm. Taking a deep breath, she slowly began channeling her magic towards her hand. She had been doing this several times during her time in the maze trying to get help in finding her way and every time she did do this, she received a rhyme or a clue of sorts.

After a moment of simply laying on her hand, her wand began to slowly spin until it was spinning like a little pin. As it spun a ghostly vapor spilled from it followed by a voice.

"Your choice is an important one," the whisper began its voice old and cracking. "The right path is one you use every day, what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, so let your hand lead your way."

With that the whisper vanished and the smoke dissipated, leaving only the words in her memory behind and really she didn't know what to make of the clue.

"Let my hand lead my way, what sort of..." yet that's when she froze.

What was right was wrong and what was wrong was right. You could use the word right in two different manners. Right as in direction right and right as in okay right. What if... the clue was using both? She used her right hand every day, it was her main hand she did everything with it.

Looking down at her hands she took a deep breath and before she could change her mind she took the left trail and began to walk once more. From there she was forced to turn right as there were no other ways. Arriving at a crossroad, She looked around and after a moment chose to continue forward. From there she was forced to turn right and then another right before turning left. Here she arrived at another crossroad and after a moment's hesitation chose to go right once more. The moment she did, she instantly regretted it.

The moment she stepped forward going back became a thing of the past as a large and heavy looking iron gate slammed into place blocking the exit. Turning from the gate, she could only back up into it at the sight that befell her vision.

Gone were the tall shrub walls were both replaced with solid concrete walls and while the ground was still covered in grass and stones you could barely see it because it was almost completely covered in snakes. Snakes, really who had to chose snakes!

"Its... it's not like I am scared of snakes, I simply don't like them." She told herself yet as one looked at her and slithered closer she did a very un-Gryffindorish thing, she screamed and jumped back as far as she could go practically clinging to the iron gate blocking her exit.

"Human, please shut up I have no wish to hear you scream like that." The snake grumbled and for the first time since arriving in this section, she could clearly understand them. Her parseltongue ability was making a reappearance again something she was sometimes grateful for.

"Human smells different than other humans," it continued before making it closer and although Téa did want to whimper she was most definitely not going to do so. "Human smells snakish and... small amount of burnt."

"What... what do you mean I smell snakish?" She asked confused by that statement.

"As I said human, you smell snakish and don't forget the burnt part, that's also in your sent." The snake answered although now it was much

closer. "The sent... its ancient... a smell I have not smelled in a very long time..."

"Basilisk," Téa whispered feeling slightly weak. "Is that... is that what you're smelling?"

"The King of Serpents... yes that is the sent... he's venom runs inside your veins human... but it is mixed with the scent of burnt."

"Phoenix... A phoenix cried on my wound healing it and saving my life." Téa answered earning a soft hiss from the snake before it backed away.

"You are an interesting human, human. What are you doing in this maze?" It asked and although Téa felt slightly stupid talking to a snake, especially considering she was slightly afraid of them, hello she had faced a giant killer Snake when she was twelve that would put a negative imprint on anybody, she answered.

"I'm here because I got kissed by a Dementor, it's... a long but short story," She answered. "I... I need to pass through the maze to continue on with my journey to place my soul back into my body."

"This maze, it shows a person's greatest fear," the snake remarked and Téa wanted to ask how the snake knew that but she could see the snake looking at her with a curious look if snakes could actually do that. "Do you fear us, speaker? You who can speak our language, yet you fear us?"

"How would you feel if you were twelve and almost got killed by a giant killer snake?" She asked the snake who gave a nod. "It's not that you're ugly, you all have an amazing beauty to you that others do not, you're not slimy or smell bad, you just... I am used to snakes being the symbol of evil, parseltongue being thought as a sigh of a Dark Wizard or witch, and now I am defending myself to a snake," she bemoaned before allowing herself to slump down onto the ground.

"You surpassed your fears when fighting the king of Serpents human, now after the fact you allow that fear to take you over again? Why?" The snake asked and for the first time since being locked in with a hundred snakes, Téa felt a bit more relaxed.

Why did she allow her fear of the Basilisk continue? She had faced the giant snake, killed it, and survived. Moreover, she could speak to snakes, how could she really fear them? Looking to the snake, she took it in a bit more. It was a very beautiful snake; it had dorsal scales that gave it a bristly appearance. It was at least 58 cm in length had a short snout and large eyes surrounded by scales. Its entire body was covered with elongated, heavily keeled dorsal scales that gave it a sort of shaggy almost bristly appearance. Actually, it was beautiful, very beautiful yet something inside of her told her that this snake wasn't harmless.

"What… type of snake are you?" She asked curiously earning a soft hiss from the snake.

"I am an Atheris hispida, although people call me a Spiny Bush viper," It answered a tinge of pride in its voice.

"You're venomous aren't you," She remarked not even bothering to make a question. "But you're so beautiful and unique, or handsome if you're a guy. I love your scales." Téa remarked and although she hesitated a moment, she extended her hand to brush a finger over the scales earning a satisfied hiss of pleasure.

"I am a girl so beautiful will be satisfactory. What is your name human?" The snake asked.

"Téa, Téaleon Potter, what about you?"

"My name is Attor," She answered softly before hissing in content as Téa rubbed her finger under its chin. "You have changed your views on us snakes?"

"My fear, like many fears are irrational. I think I can learn to appreciate snakes." Téa agreed before allowing Attor to wrap herself up her arm.

"Then I shall accompany you on the remainder of your journey. I will make it my mission to change your views on snakes completely and for the better," she declared making Téa laugh. "Now, the other snakes will not bother you while I am with you, we should be off." Attor announced and with a nod, Téa hurried back to her feet.

The moment she stepped forward the rest of the snakes on the ground began to move from her bath while Attor slithered up her arm until she rested comfortably on her shoulders and around her neck. Arriving at the end of the hall, she had relaxed almost completely, her fear of snakes was swiftly and thankfully dissipating.

The moment she passed through the set of iron, gates that had opened the maze morphed back to its usual shrub self and now it was just her and Attor again.

"Another fear surpassed," She muttered to herself before looking left then right.

For a moment, she debated before continuing right while made turn left. Ignoring a crossroad she continued along her path until she turned left again. On this trail, there were three other paths to her right but by the looks of it, they seemed to all connect to this one and each other. The moment she passed them the maze changed once again. The stone ground she had been walking on changing into a rougher terrain until finally she had to come to a stop because there was a wall blocking her path. Yet this was most definitely not a normal wall. It looked to be about twenty feet high and held various colored stones. It was a rock-climbing wall and she had a bad feeling that she would have to climb it.

"At least, I know I'm on the right path when these things pop up," She muttered softly.

"Please tell me we are not being forced to climb that?" Attor questioned her making her chuckle.

"Afraid so Attor, so hold on tightly, we're going climbing." She declared before walking to the wall and beginning to climb.

Now normally if you asked somebody to climb a twenty-foot high climbing hall they would ask you where the harness and safety gear was but this maze, it was built to kill you and so those items would only protect you against any unknown obstacles that would come about. She had learned that during her time in the maze and had, sadly, gotten used to it. With Attor clinging to her and shivering every once and a while, she tried to distract him by talking.

"So Attor, why were you in this maze?" She asked curiously.

"I was killed in the living world, and then chosen to be part of this maze with the other snakes. I used to belong to a speaker until my speaker was killed and I along with him. My master's previous companion, another one like me, had been killed weeks before I was found by him.

"So you were killed just because of who your master was?" Téa asked as she heaved herself to another ledge.

"Yes, my previous master had many enemies, many of whom thought that speaking to snakes was a crime and that we snakes were evil." Attor answered and for a moment, Téa stopped and looked down at her new companion.

"You're not evil, you just a creature like everything else in the world," She remarked with a frown before shaking her head and continuing up the hill.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of climbing she heaved her aching body onto a cliff. Turning herself over she took a moment to catch her breath before opening her eyes and looking up. The moment she did, she was amazed by the sight of the maze she had gone through. So high up she could see all the paths and glowing lanterns that seemed to illuminate the place. After a moment, realization came crashing down and with a cry of shock and her heart racing she scurried back until she hit the wall behind her.

"We are really, really high up," She whispered more than a little afraid.

"It is time to rest," Attor announced making her eyes shoot up to see the lights from the lanterns going out.

"I guess we'll be sleeping here," she mumbled not really liking the idea but still there would be no way to continue and she would need her rest.

Pulling her cloak around her body, she allowed Attor to slither down to curl on her chest before transfiguring a pebble into a pillow. Moving as close to the wall as possible she rested down and tugged her cloak to cover her entirely.

Slowly opening her eyes, Téa felt confusion fill her as she looked around. She was most definitely not in the maze, no she knew exactly where she was the thing was she had never been this high in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Turning away from the ceiling, she found herself looking down at the full Hogwarts Great Hall. All around students were whispering to each other yet just then the double doors opened and Professor McGonagall walked in followed by first years.

Frowning in confusion, she floated down. Landing softly on the ground, made her realize that she was still dressed in the attire from the maze. Blushing furiously she looked around only to realize that nobody had noticed her, or was it that nobody could see her.

Feeling odd, she walked over to Gryffindor table and swiftly spotted Ron and Hermione who were both looking thinner than the last time she had seen them. Wishing she could speak to them she reigned in her sadness when McGonagall brought the stool and the ancient wizard's hat known as the Sorting Hat to the front of the hall. Instantly the buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away and the first years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students.

For a moment there was no noise until finally the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song:

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted;

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

"Together we will build and teach!"

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendship fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest."

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,"

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same."

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff she took the rest,

And taught hem all she knew,

Thus the Houses and their founders

Retained friendship firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while, it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with dueling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last, there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the Houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into Houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my son:

Though condemned, I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfill my duty

And must quarter ever year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in Danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within.

I have told you, I have warned you…

Let the Sorting now begin.

As the hand became motionless once more, Téa stood stock still as its words flooded through her. All around the hall applause broke out though it was punctured with whispers and muttering.

"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" Ron muttered while looking at Hermione.

"I wonder if it's ever given warnings before?" said Hermione, sounding slightly anxious.

"Indeed," said Nearly Headless Nick as he floated right through Téa as though she wasn't even there. "The hat feels itself honor-bound to give the school due warning whenever it feels –"

Yet the Ghost of Gryffindor could not continue as Professor McGonagall, who was waiting to read out the list of first-year's names, was giving the whispering students the sort of look that scorches. As whispers came to an abrupt halt, Téa placed her attention on the sorting most especially the new first year students. Instantly her eyes landed on a boy she recognized, James Evans seemed to have made it home perfectly safe, thankfully.

With a last frowning look that passed over the four houses, Professor McGonagall turned her gaze to the long piece of parchment and began to call out names,

"Abercrombie, Euan."

With the first name called a terrified-looking boy stumbled forward and put the hat on his head; it was only prevented from falling right down to his shoulders by his very prominent ears. The sight made a smile tug at Téa's lips yet her smile only grew as the hat shouted out, "Gryffindor!"

Clapping with the other Gryffindor's, the little boy staggered to their table and sat down. Slowly the long line of first years began to go by until finally McGonagall called James' name.

"Evans, James!" She announced and with a nervous smile, James walked towards the stool. As he sat down, the hat was placed on his head and fell to his shoulders. Waiting with the others, she held her breath but at long last the hat shouted out its choice, "Gryffindor!"

Laughing with pride, Téa clapped happily as the boy was sorted into her own house and as he hurried over to take a seat he was looking around nervously as though searching for someone. Finally, "Zeller, Rose" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor McGonagall gathered the hat and stool before marching them away.

With the sorting out of the way, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet and for some reason, Téa was soothed to see the aged Headmaster standing before the school.

"To our newcomers, welcome!" Dumbledore began his voice ringing while he stretched his arms wide and smiled at them all. "To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

With that, laughter filled the hall and as Dumbledore sat down food appeared out of nowhere so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces and pitchers of pumpkin juice.

As students dug into their food Hermione called out to the Gryffindor Ghost. "What were you saying before the Sorting?"

"Oh yes," Nick said, seemingly glad of a reason to turn away from Ron, something Téa could not blame him for considering she was slightly green watching Ron eat. "Yes, I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within."

"Ow kunnit nofe skusin danger ifzat?" said Ron making everybody around him frown while Téa could only snort and shake her head.

"I beg your pardon?" Nearly Headless Nick questioned politely and after Ron gave an enormous swallow re-asked his question.

"How can it know if the school's in danger if it's a hat?"

"I have no idea," Nearly Headless Nick answered and after listening to a bit more of the conversation, Téa walked away.

For the first time in a long time, she walked around the hall. With nobody, noticing her she walked up to the Professor's table and slowly walked from one side to the other taking note of changes.

Hagrid was missing; his seat replaced with another Professor, then there was the second Professor, one she did not recognize. The woman was toadyish and instantly Téa didn't like her or his pink cardigan.

Walking towards the center of the table, she swiftly found herself before Dumbledore and McGonagall. From here, she could see small changes that had happened. Both looked slightly paler, yet the changes were small and would be unnoticeable to those who weren't as observant. What had happened to make them like that, and why was McGonagall shooting sad looks towards Gryffindor table?

Shaking her head, she slowly walked towards the other tables until something caught her attention. Somebody was watching her. Turning towards the sensation she instantly spotted a young blonde Ravenclaw gazing at her. Before she could move towards her Dumbledore stood once more.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I ask a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," he began. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."

This made Téa chuckle,

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list."

Snorting at that statement Téa shook her head, Filch was always at them for things like that and he was a nasty old snot that hated them all.

"We also have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Turning her gaze to the pink toad, Téa narrowed her eyes, the woman looked as though she had never taught a day in her life little alone that she knew anything about Defense Against the Dark arts.

"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the -" Here Dumbledore had to stop as the pink toad stood. There was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking but then the woman had the nerve to say, "Hem, hem," and it was clear that she had gotten to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Seemingly only taken aback for a moment Dumbledore sat down and looked alertly at the woman as though he desired nothing more than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Téa winced at the sound of her voice; it was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish. Instantly Téa felt a power of dislike fill her.

", it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

"Brilliant, Hogwarts hired a delusional and annoying teacher to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, kill me now," Téa moaned feeling like banging her head against a very hard surface.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"Oh brilliant, she's a sadistic insane woman!" Téa cried while throwing her hands in the air.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instructions. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching." Here the toad gave a little bow to the rest of the staff, which, Téa happily noted, did not bow back.

As the rest of the speech went by, Téa found herself fading. Just before she faded completely though the blonde girl, who had been looking at her, gave her, a small wave, and she instantly waved back.

Author note: To those reading this story, yes I took some parts from the book but I did try to modify some of it too, Umbridge's speech was copied as best as possible considering it was the toad woman's and it couldn't change. This is the only time when text will be somewhat copied from the books so don't go panicking and saying I'm copying the book.


	4. Chapter four

**_Chapter four_**

 ** _My name isn't Mistress!_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

Waking with a start, Téa looked around her before remembering where she was. Her dream, if it had even been a dream made her worry even more than she was about her friends. Something had not really felt right about that bloody pink woman.

"You seem worried Mistress." Attor remarked as she also woke having been shifted from Téa's chest as she shot up.

"It's nothing Attor, simply an odd dream," She mumbled before placing the snake gently down on the ground.

With that, she stood and stretched, removing soar kinks from her body as she did so. The rock she had transfigured into a pillow was swiftly transfigured back before she allowed Attor to slither up her arm and back to her comfortable place of safety.

"We should be going," she declared before looking up at the hill before her. She didn't know for how much longer she would be climbing, but she really hoped it wouldn't be much longer. Her arms were hurting from the day before. Shaking her hands, she did a few stretches before beginning the climb again.

"Mistress," "Please don't call me Mistress Attor, I'm your friend, call me Téa." "Very well odd human, Téa my old master always said that dreams often have a meaning. Do you wish to speak to me of your dream?"

That simple request made Téa stop her climb for a moment before she shook her head and continued. Talking about dreams wasn't her strong suit, actually she hated doing it. The last time she had spoken to somebody about her dream, he had risked his life to come back to a place that wanted him dead.

"I don't think it was a dream, I think I was showing actual events." She finally yet when she didn't continue Attor spoke up.

"It is possible, my old master often traveled by soul, he wished to keep his eye on certain people. It is called astral projection." Attor remarked and for a moment, Téa gazed at the snake with a raised eyebrow.

"How the hell do you know all this?" She questioned rather curious about just who her new companions old master was.

"My old master was very knowledgeable; he insisted his companions also be knowledgeable." Attor sniffed making her snort before she continued up.

"So you think I might have done that?" She asked curiously.

"It is possible, but I could not be positive." Attor answered making her sigh.

"Okay, we're ending this conversation, no more talking about dreams, please. Plus it's not good to dwell on things like that right now. I need to worry about me for a bit considering I won't be able to do anything if I don't get my soul back to my body." She grumbled before pulling herself up a rather odd angled part of the wall.

It only took what seemed like an hour more to get to the top and as she pulled herself over the edge and crawled away from it, she finally felt safe enough to slump and turn onto her back exhausted. For a moment, she simply stayed there until finally she felt strong enough to push herself back up onto her feet.

Straightening her clothes, she looked around before swiftly noticing the difference between the maze she had just gotten through and the maze here. The maze bellow had looked well-travelled and the path was covered in more grass, but the maze up here was very different. The bushes here seemed perfectly trimmed yet she could clearly see thorns mixed into it. The ground though was covered in pavers and had no grass at all peeking through. It looked older than the maze bellow and darker almost. The lanterns were also different, rustier and the glow seemed less bright than the ones bellow.

"This is a whole different part of the maze," she mumbled feeling far more intimidated by this maze than she had the previous one. This maze felt as though not many people made it here, it had a sort of dark feeling about it and to be quite honest gave her the creeps.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed Attor to slither back onto her shoulders before walking into the maze once more. As she walked she noticed subtle differences in this maze. The paths were much narrower and it was colder. She had to tug her cloak closer to ward off the slight chill that was running through her body. Every once and a while a gust of ice-cold wind would flow by her and she'd shiver. Attor wasn't overly pleased with the change in temperature so much in fact that she had to use her hood to cover the snake in a warm cuddly blanket of sorts.

As she walked her thoughts kept drifting towards her dream, even though she wouldn't talk about anymore didn't mean she wasn't thinking about it. Seeing her friends had been brilliant although it had also brought back all her anger and grief. Her friends hadn't even sent her a single letter and now they were acting like two heartbroken people. She couldn't help but think that if they had really cared, or worried about her, they would have written her at least one letter something but they hadn't. Then there was McGonagall and Dumbledore she hoped the war efforts weren't going so bad that it affected their health because really what else could worry them so much?

"Mistress!" Came a cry that had her pulling from her thoughts just before she was slammed to the ground.

Head banging against the stone floor below her she saw stars dancing before her eyes yet as long thin fingers wrapped around her neck cutting off the air supply her vision slowly cleared and her arms moved of their own accord wrapped around to thin arms pushing at her attacker.

Finally, her vision came back into focus and yet she actually wished it hadn't. There right on top of her was a gaunt, skeletal being that very closely resembled a zombie from the tv shows her cousin watched. It had long yet very wet red hair that was only in patches here in there on the skull, its eyes were dead and it truly stank.

Eyes meeting the creatures dead ones she thought she saw a flash of recognization fill through them yet it must have been her imagination.

Knowing she needed to get away from this creature not just for her nose or air supply but because she didn't know what the hell it was she concentrated her magic towards her hands and with one single thought in might, help. As though her magic knew exactly what she needed, her magic came from her hands in flames making the monster scream in agony yet it didn't last long as in little time the creature had been turned to ashes.

Panting, she scurried to her feet before dusting the ashes from her body. Eyes wide she looked around and was horrified by how much the maze had changed and how little she had noticed. The previously leafy green shrubs were gone having been replaced with sharp pointed thorn walls that looked to have been as black as the sky.

"What… what was that…" she panted out feeling shaken by the encounter.

"It was an inferius, they are dead body's that are usually controlled by a Dark Wizard." Attor told her making another shudder run up her spine. "As you can see, they are destroyed using fire."

"That is fucked up," she swore before taking her wand out and looking around. Knowing this maze, there would be more than one of those nasty creatures inside of it ready to attack her. She would need to be even more on guard no more thinking about her dream. It had almost cost her and she didn't need that. "Thanks, Attor, for snapping me from my thoughts,"

"I was not quick enough Mistress, but what had your attention so occupied?" The snake asked and although Téa wanted to tell the snake to stop calling her that it seemed to be something she would have to do later.

Movement in the corner of her eye had swiftly captured her attention and in no time a new inferius had appeared yet this one was different. He was clearly male and while the other had been shorter and female, this one was taller. It also had short tufts of what seemed to be black hair.

"Why send infery, I don't fear death," she growled before flickering her wand towards the approaching being yet it seemed quicker than the other as it dodged it without much effort. Growling she began sending fire spells, which she knew very little of, towards the creature until finally one nailed it sending it to the ground.

"You must destroy it completely before it returns to fit form," Attor ordered her and although she wanted to just continue on she hurried over and, standing above the creature aimed her wand at its head. The moment it looked at her it seemed to recognize her before returning to its previous state.

Before she could second-guess herself, she sent a blast of fire towards the creature and with a howl it turned to ash. Slowly stepping away from the scene, she shook off the feeling in her heart before slowly turning away and beginning to walk again. Still on alert, she kept her wand in hand and the other ready for any sudden attacks. Just as it seemed like she was getting away from the infery she began to walk into a thick fog. It became so thick that she couldn't even see her own hand when she brought it up before her very eyes.

"I do not like this mistress, something does not seem right about this fog," Attor hissed to her.

"Don't call…" "Listen to her, speaking that filthy language, how can she call herself a good witch if she speaks that evil language." Came a female voice that had both stopping in their tracks.

"She's no Potter either, there has never been a single Potter who was able to speak to Snakes, who would wish to they are evil creatures, the symbol of a Dark Wizard." A male voice followed suit.

"Snakes aren't evil! That's just prejudicial!" Téa cried out anger swiftly building as she moved to defend her new friend. She might have just met Attor, but the snake had done nothing wrong to her, actually, she had helped her. Plus Parseltongue was just a language, it might have been used by a Dark Lord, but that didn't mean it was an evil language.

"Defending a snake, and she calls herself a Gryffindor? No proud lion would allow themselves to be seen with a snake," the male voice continued yet just as she was about to speak out once more something clicked inside her brain and her anger seeped out of her while shock swiftly took its place.

"Does she think we are actually proud of her? Proud of what she's done? What has she done? Every time she's in trouble she cries for help or needs to be saved in some way. The time she was in the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore had to send his phoenix to save her, and even then she screwed it up by impaling herself on a fang." The female voice resounded and as it became clearer and clearer, Téa began to shake, her eyes having grown wide in shock.

"Mistress, do you know whom these voices are?" Attor questioned yet as the snake gazed up at its mistress she swiftly noticed Téa's wide open eyes, and paler complexion than before. "Mistress…"

"Now don't get me started on her schooling. At least we were talented in something, what is she talented in? She's known for one spell, and she couldn't even do that right if she ended up here."

As the voices continued, Téa's mind continued to whirl with thousands of thoughts. The moment she had recognized the voices she had fallen into shock and it didn't take much, especially after her upbringing at the Dursley's hand. She had never ever thought that she would have been met with them during this journey, that she would be forced to face the people she wanted to face the least, her parents. She had always been told that she would have made her parents proud, but she had never fully believed it and here speaking to her were her parents.

Where they really that disappointed in her? Did they really think she was unworthy of their pride, just because she spoke parseltongue? She had believed that her parents had been somewhat understanding people, sure everybody had a prejudicial bone in their body, but she hadn't believed that her parents would be like this.

Just as her thoughts were about to take an even darker turn a sharp pain on her arm made her cry out in pain, and her other hand fly up to her now bleeding arm. Eyes shooting downwards she found Attor glaring at her, her mouth open, blood on its fangs.

"Do not let their words affect you!" She hissed making her gulp. ."Whoever they are they do not know the real you!"

For a moment, Téa could only stare down at the snake glaring at her. Slowly her words sank in and she saw the truth in them. Even if these were her parents, they didn't really know her… although their opinion did matter to her, she could live with a negative opinion. What mattered was what the people who were around her thought about and even then the most important opinion was her own. What mattered most was what she thought about herself and she was slowly realizing that.

Confidence growing once more she turned her gaze from the snake and glared at the fog before her.

"Even if you're my parents, I don't care. Parseltongue isn't something to be ashamed off, I am not ashamed of being one! Actually I embrace it! It's something unique and different and so what if I'm different! I have done plenty to be proud of and I am a Gryffindor! I have faced a Basilisk, I've dueled Voldemort, survived his Imperius, fought it!" She shouted, not even caring if she was shouting at fog. "And you know what; I don't even think you are my parents! My parents would be proud of me; they said so during that night when I fought Voldemort! So show your faces so that I can see who's using my parent's voice to try and bring out my fear!"

As she shouted this, her grip on her wand tightened and her magic began to crackle around her. Slowly the fog began to dissipate and the moment it did Téa realized just what she was seeing. Surrounding her, were all sorts of different types of Infery. They had been zeroing in on her and she now had nowhere to go.

Panic setting in she looked around and for a moment didn't really know what to do. Sure she had faced off against two, but there were at least fifty of the dead cursed bodies around her if not more. What the hell was she supposed to do!

"Do not allow your panic to fill you, Mistress! You must keep a calm mind in situations such as these. Now there is a spell that you can us, it is a very dangerous spell you must control it or it will burn us all!" Attor told her making her gulp.

"Then why the fuck would I use it if it's so hard!" She cried out trying to think of another way yet Astor would have none of it.

"It is the only fire spell I can think of that will destroy all of these monsters!" Attor shouted out. "Now as I was saying I do not have much time to explain. The spell is very hard to control, keep a firm hand on your magic, you are capable of doing so. The spell is Fiendfyre, the fire will pour from your wand like water and if you flick your wand, it will create a creature that you will hopefully be able to control!"

"Attor, I really don't…" "YOU MUST! There are too many of these creatures Mistress, now believe in your abilities and believe in your magic! Perform the spell!"

As soon as Attor shouted those last words, the Infery pounced and Téa had little time to think. Raising her wand, she cried out the spell and just as Attor had said, flames quickly spewed from the tip of her wand like water and with a flick, it shot out. Within little time a giant serpent-like creature formed, surrounding her in a barrier of flames. As its flaming body moved over the attacking infery they were engulfed in flames and burned to the ground.

Keeping a tight hold of her magic, Téa swiftly felt the strain on it as the spell fought to get away from her grip. Sweat covered her brow as she fought to keep control and finally it was as though an invisible battle had been one and control came swiftly to her side. Ordering the flames towards the dead, she watched as the flames consumed them all. As the last Infery burned, she began to range in the fire. It took concentration and a struggle for power yet after fighting like she had never fought before with her magic, the flames were extinguished. The last to go was the giant serpent and as it began to shrink, it gave her a single bow before swiftly disappearing.

Flames gone, she slumped to her knees, panting with exhaustion. She had never fought against magic in such a way. The spell had been one of the most frightening spells she had ever used. She had never used something so destructive before.

"What… what the fuck was that spell Attor?" She spat out, eyes moving to meet her companions as she gazed at her.

"The Monstrous Flame spell," Attor answered. "One of the hardest spells to control, it is considered a dark spell for if you do not have control over it; it could very easily kill you."

"And you made me do that," she cried out anger returning to her as she glared at her companion.

"You were able to control it were you not? Do not shout at me, I had trust in your abilities," Attor declared simply before turning its head away from her.

For a moment, Téa glared at the snake. The little creature had made her use a spell that she could have completely lost control of and killed herself with! How could she not be angry with that!? Yet Attor was right. She didn't know powerful fire spells, that had been the most powerful one she had ever performed and it had saved her life. If the snake, who barely knew her, could believe in her abilities then why couldn't she?

Turning her gaze from the snake, she glared down at the ground, before shutting her eyes and allowing her shoulders to slump.

"Those voices, they belonged to my parents," she whispered catching the snake's attention. "It's one of my biggest fears, to disappoint them the thing is I will never know if I have or will because they died when I was a year old. I never and will never really get to know them."

Admitting it to somebody else felt a little odd to Téa, she wasn't one to normally speak about her feelings to anybody.

"Why would they not be proud of you Mistress, just be what I see you are, a wonderful witch filled with talent, and even if they were not proud, do not let that affect you. Be proud of yourself, which is what matters the most." Attor assured her making her laugh.

"That's what I'm swiftly beginning to learn Attor, thank you." She murmured before running a finger over the snakes head earning a soft hiss of content. "And thank you for believing in me, but please can you stop calling me Mistress?"

"I will try," The snake agreed.

"Well," Téa whispered while looking up from the ground and gazing around her, "I guess we should continue with the maze, no point in just sticking around here."

 **(This will contain explicit language)**

 **Author note: This is specifically for a guest reviewer named Juan.**

 **In my last few stories, I have received 'reviews' if you can call them that, from an anonymous reviewer. Now I accept many reviews, be it criticism or other. I love both sorts but what I don't like is somebody stating that that simply because I do not finish a story means that my other stories are crap. So listen, Juan I don't care what you say, and considering you're a guest I can't reply to your review privately I am writing my reply in this chapter. I don't care about your opinion. All guest have the privilege to review my stories, I can very easily revoke that privilege. I don't care about other people finishing their stories good for them. I finish the stories that I want to understood? Some of my stories are so old they make me cringe just reading the first chapter. So from this moment on any review you try to post on my stories will be removed. They hold no proper meaning except to simply try and belittle my stories.**

 **I write for amusement, and that means writing what the hell I want not what others want!**


	5. Chapter five

Author note: This chapter does contain some portions of the book, but I have tried to modify them as best as I could while still keeping the trueness of the book. I wish to change as little from the book as possible in certain situations, Umbridge being one of those people. She's just a person you hate with a bright passion. This is not to say that I won't change things in the book, there will be big differences, but small sections such as these would be best kept similar. If someone begins to complain, I will do my best to change it more.  
Also, I would like to thank all of those who have reviewed and left their thoughts about the story. I have never read something like this before so I sort of hoped it would be original. I'm posting as I'm writing and we're coming close to the last chapter I have written completely so updates won't be as quick as people might like. I will try to post a chapter once a week or at least once every two weeks.  
Now there are meanings to the various task's Téa will go through in this story, some might not be as obvious but if requests are put in, I will be happy to explain about them as I go along! To start the explanation for the first task will be at the bottom of this chapter under another author note so if you want to understand the reason behind the task's a bit more then I will do my best to explain them.  
Once again thank you to all those who have reviewed. As many people might have noticed, I have tried to improve on my most horrible quality, my grammar. Still there is always room for improvement, so if there are any sites people would like to recommend for proofreading and so on don't feel worried about pointing them out. I always look towards better ways to go through my stories to make it easier for you the readers to read through.

* * *

 ** _Chapter five_**

 ** _Flaming toads, would be lovely about now_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

 **...**

The first day back at Hogwarts was going as well as could be considering their schedule for the day. Mondays would no doubt be the worst day of the week, first they had History of Magic, then they had potions, followed by either Divination or Study of Ancient Runes. Yet the cherry on top of the Sunday was their final class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Already their day had been rather horrible with people looking and whispering about the absence of the third and most famous member of their group. The fact that Téaleon Potter was nowhere to be found at Hogwarts had steered a huge amount of rumors from everybody especially as Dumbledore hadn't spoken a word about her at the start of term.

Arriving at their Defense Classroom, both Ron and Hermione looked at each other before slowly entering the room. The moment they did they froze. In previous years, the classroom that was used to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts had been decorated in various manners mostly because it had seen a new teacher every year for many years. Yet the classrooms of the past, at least, held some depiction of the meaning of the class.

This year there was no such sight at all. All the desks and chairs were clean, any mark that had been on them was gone leaving them smooth and looking new. The walls, which were normally the natural stone of the castle, had been turned a revolting shade of pink that made them both queasy. Then there were the cats, everywhere you looked there was either a painting or a plate with cats on it.

Looking at each other, the two Gryffindor Prefects felt their hearts plummet even further down before slowly they followed the other Gryffindors in taking seats yet, this time, they claimed the back seats as their own. In very little time the door to the classroom shut close and they all turned their attention to the front of the classroom where Professor Umbridge was already seated at the teacher's desk, dressed in the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head.

The class remained quiet, none of them knew what sort of disciplinarian she was after all yet they were all rather unsure of the woman.

"Well, good afternoon!" She finally spoke her eyes running over each and every one of them. As a few students gave murmurs in return she gave a frown. "Tut, tut, that will most definitely not do now won't it? You all will speak clearly and politely, and reply Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." She told them while rising to her feet and walking around the desk. "Now one more time please, Good afternoon, class!"

Although they both felt very foolish doing so they ground out the greeting just like everybody else in the classroom.

"There now," she announced her voice returning to its overly sweet sound. "That wasn't too difficult, I expect that every time you enter this class and I greet you in such a way. Now then Wands away and quills out, please."

Instantly many shared gloomy looks, whenever a teacher gave the order to put their wands away meant that they were to do nothing but theory and that was not a fun time in class. Both Ron and Hermione placed their wands inside their own backpacks yet made sure they were within reach before turning their attention back to the front of the class were Professor Umbridge was opening her handbag and extracting her own wand. As she tapped the blackboard sharply with it; words wrote themselves on its smooth matt black surface.

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts_

 _A Return to Basic Principles._

"Now then, your previous lessons in this subject have been rather scripted and fragmented, has it not?" She questioned while turning to face the class. "Constantly receiving a new teacher each year, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has regrettably resulted in your being far underneath the standard we would anticipate seeing in your O.W.L. Year."

This statement made many of them frown yet before anybody could speak up she wrapped the blackboard again and the first message vanished. In its place was now a new message.

 _Course aims:_

 _Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

 _Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

 _Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

As the scratching of quills came to a stop, everybody looked back up at their Professor waiting for her to continue.

"Now then, you have all received a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" She questioned and as the class gave a murmured agreement, she gave a tired sigh and shook her head.

"I think we will have to try that one more time," She told them making some of them groan. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply 'Yes, Professor Umbridge' or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' Now then does everybody have their copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," answered the students earning a nod of approval from their teacher.

"Good, now you will all turn to page five and read Chapter one, 'Basics for beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

Regrettably, their class went by rather slowly yet as the bell rang to signal the end of class, everybody hurried from the classroom, both Ron and Hermione being the first to leave.

"Well that entire class was rather ridiculous," Hermione grumbled to her friend earning a snort of agreement.

"The woman is completely mental I tell you," He agreed while glaring down at the book in his hands. "How is this book supposed to help us!"

"It's not Ronald; I think we are going to have to do work on the side if we want to get better at Defense. If only…" Hermione whispered yet she stopped before she could even whisper Téa's name.

"She was the best in Defense, she'd have been able to help us get through things," Ron whispered feeling his own sadness approach as he thought about his best friend lying in a bed soulless.

As they arrived at Gryffindor tower they gave the password and filtered in the moment they did they were met with a dead silence that had them both looking up to find the other students, those who were in the common room, staring at them.

They both knew what questions were running through their minds and although they didn't want to really face the questions, they knew that they would have to. Their fellow Gryffindor's would no doubt ask eventually, at least now they would get the answers they needed to get and not the truth.

"Okay, that's it we know you all have questions but really it's none of your damn biased!" Ron grunted out anger flashing through his eyes while his two older brothers and his sister stepped up to back them up.

"I think we have a right to know where the hell Téa is!" Angelina shot out, cheeks coloring with anger as she stepped forward. "She's after all the Seeker for Gryffindor!"

"We'll we're going to have to get a new Seeker then aren't we because Téa isn't coming to Hogwarts this year," Fred declared.

"Chose to study abroad for a year, under advisement from somebody who thought it best," George continued.

"I don't blame her either not with all the whispers we've been getting all day." Ginny snapped while glaring fiercely at those who had indeed been pestering her about Téa.

"What do you mean she chose to study abroad?!" Angelina cried out.

"She's running away isn't she?! She knows that we won't believe her about You-Know-Who being back because it's complete bullshit!" Seamus shouted earning some cries of approval from other, Gryffindor's while the Weasleys and Hermione all tense and glare at the Irishman.

"She didn't run away you cowardly excuse for a Gryffindor! I'd believe her on top of that because he is back!" Ron shouted swiftly coming to his friend's defense. "Plus aren't we Gryffindors, we're supposed to stick together but all I see is you all turning your back on the person who has done nothing but protect this school! So the next person I hear bad mouth Téaleon Potter will get shipped straight to McGonagall and I'm positive she will not be happy about anything you lot say about her!"

With that, Ron marched up the steps of the boy's dormitory and disappeared. With a glare to the rest of the room, Hermione followed.

Stepping into the boy's dorm, Hermione looked hesitantly towards Ron's bed to find him sitting there his head in his hands. Shutting and locking the door, she slowly walked over and sat down on the opposite bed.

"She's not here to defend herself and the lot of them are badmouthing her," Ron whispered anger flashing through his eyes.

"We knew something like this would happen, Ron, I mean not everybody was going to believe Téa especially when the Ministry is trying to pull her name through the dirt, hers and Dumbledore's, but we just need to stick together." Here she reached out and grabbed his hands making him look up at her with slowly dying anger in his eyes. "She wouldn't want us biting the heads of our fellow housemates."

"I won't bite their heads off; I'll just set the twins on them," He grumbled before pulling one hand away to run it through his hair. "I think, for now, it would be best if I stayed far away from Gryffindor Common room as possible,"

"Then let's go to the library, we can do our homework or play a game of chest." Hermione agreed and although Ron didn't exactly want to go to the library it would be better than staying in the dorm for the rest of the evening.

Giving in he gave a nod before gathering what he needed and leaving with Hermione, ignoring the stares he was getting from the rest of the Gryffindor's as they went.

The next day came quickly for the occupants of Hogwarts. Most were still groggy as the post began to arrive yet some instantly woke when they spotted the front page article and the picture at the forefront.

Up at the Head table, Minerva McGonagall gazed down upon the article her eyes instantly taking in the picture of her Gryffindor student, Téaleon Potter. At the time, fourteen years old, Téa looked beautiful. It was clearly a picture from the year before and had been taking during the yule ball. It had been the first and only time she had seen the young Gryffindor Seeker in anything but a boy's uniform, and she had to admit, her student looked beautiful.

Her hair had been done into thick elegant curls while her make-up was light and elegant. For a gown she wore a much more traditional one than people would have expected. A long ivory ball gown that was decorated in golds and reds. The back of the stress was strapped by long golden silk ribbons and pulled tight to give her ample cleavage, something that many people had swiftly noticed upon her entrance into the Great Hall. She even wore long ivory gloves and yet her jewelry had been a simple pair of white pearls around her neck, a matching bracelet and set of earrings. She was the epitome of a pureblood heiress, showing her status as the next Lady Potter perfectly.

Of course, the shock of her appearance had worn off just enough to make everybody notice just who she had attended the Yule ball with, none other than Cedric Diggory. Apparently, the duo had wished to show a strong front for Hogwarts, and after the boy had found out his girlfriend had been cheating on him, chose to attend with Téa instead.

Shaking her head from the past, Minerva tried to ignore the twinge of pain that filtered through her heart. The thought of the two young students, both lost forever, each within months of one another. Turning her attention to the article itself, she began to read.

Téaleon Potter whereabouts unknown!

Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, sources inside of Hogwarts have informed us that Téaleon Potter had not arrived at Hogwarts with the other students, actually, she is not even at Hogwarts. Professor Umbridge even informed us that the girls name was nowhere on the list of returning students. We the Daily Prophet would like to know why the Girl-Who-Lived, chose not to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her fifth year? Is it possible that the girl is actually running from the truth, that she realized that nobody believes her when she sprouts such horrifying tales of Dark Lords returning from the dead?

Not much is known about the whereabout of Miss Potter, but it is clear that the Ministry would like to know. They have requested her presences in an informal hearing on the death of Cedric Diggory all those months ago. This request comes from Madam Bones herself yet the Head of the DMLE has stated that no owls have been able to find the Potter Heiress.

Some speculate that the reason why Potter vanished is because she does not want others to realize that she was, in fact, the person who killed Cedric Diggory. No investigation was performed after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, wands were never checked for spells and no interview had been made to find out what had indeed happened that night. Is it wholly possible that Téaleon Potter is in fact a murderer, is it possible she killed Cedric Diggory for gold and the title of Champion? If so, then we must ask ourselves this, how could we have allowed such a thing to happen?

Scowling at the article, Minerva shut it before throwing it onto the table. Anger filled her as she thought about the slander her student was going through, without any way of defending herself. How could people assume that a fourteen year old girl would kill another human being for the simple chance at money, money she already had plenty of as the Heiress of the Potter family and if Black had had his way, the heiress of the Black family as well.

"Rubbish," she grumbled while sending a glare towards their newest staff member who simply sipped at her tea clearly content with herself.

She had no doubt that Dolores Umbridge would be given them more than their hardship when it came to Téa, the woman had no doubt been sent here to spy on them all, especially Téa and now that the young Gryffindor had not arrived at Hogwarts, she most probably had the task of discovering just where she was.

…

Albus Dumbledore gave a sigh as Amelia Bones arrived in his office. He had read the article on his young student, feeling even older as it continued on. He had continuously felt older since Téa had been found in her current state, something, he had no doubt, had swiftly been noticed.

"Albus, where is Téaleon Potter?" Amelia swiftly questioned him, clearly intent on speaking with the child.

"Amelia, please sit down, I am sure that you have questions for Téa but at this moment she cannot answer those questions as she is not in Europe," He stated simply yet that did not seem to appease the Head of the Department of Law Enforcement.

Amelia Bones was most definitely not a woman you second-guessed, little alone thought unworthy of her title as Head of the DMLE. She had fought during the first war against Voldemort, she had led Aurors, and held many records within the Auror department. She was the youngest and the first female Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, something in which she was exceedingly proud of. She was very well known for being strict yet just when dealing with suspects and this would not be any different.

Like many other people she wanted the truth, if You-Know-Who had indeed returned, she wanted to know. She had lost her family to that monster, her brother and his wife. She had almost lost her niece if she hadn't been watching over her at the time. If the monster was indeed alive, she wanted to know so that she could prepare her Aurors for war once more.

"I must speak to her Albus, we are looking into the death of Cedric Diggory and Potter is the only one who was there at the time. She is our only witness and to many our only suspect." Amelia declared earning a sad expression from the aged wizard before he gave a nod.

"Amelia, I have known Téaleon Potter since she began at Hogwarts. She has done everything in her power to stop Voldemort from returning to life. She would not lie to the wizarding world of his return. She would not wish his return at all. The man killed her parent Amelia, made her an orphan."

"Be that as it may Headmaster, this is still an investigation and I must speak with her on this matter. Now you either give me her whereabouts or I will be forced to place an arrest warrant out for her and she will be forcefully brought into the Ministry for questioning." Amelia declared eyes narrowed as she glared at the aged Headmaster.

For a moment, Dumbledore gazed at the woman before him. He knew Amelia Bones, yet he was hesitant to trust her with the information he held within his grasp. To inform her of Téa's current state could be disastrous yet at the same time, she could aid them in searching for the person who had sent the Dementors after Téa in the first place. Yet bringing her to Grimmauld Place would also reveal Sirius to the Head of the Department.

"Amelia, I…" "Are you hiding her away Dumbledore?" Amelia accused swiftly, eyes narrowing in anger as she glared at the aged Headmaster. "During the first war you had a group, the Order of the Phoenix. I wasn't blind, I knew my brother was taking part in something other than his Auror duties. He was working of you in this little group; do you have her with them?"

"Amelia…" "NO Dumbledore, listen, Cornelius is trying to bring Potter in on charges of murder," She revealed making the Headmaster frown and sit forward in his chair. "He wants her sent to Azkaban before she can be tried for the crime. Please, I must speak with her before it is it too late."

"You must understand Amelia, there are more secrets hidden within the Order then you would expect to find, but if I do share these with you, I must have your word that you will listen to me before you act." Dumbledore finally requested and although the woman seemed to hesitate she gave a nod of agreement.

"I do not ask you to join the Order Amelia; I understand that you most likely do not wish to do so. Yet I feel obliged to inform you that other Aurors have joined the Order, wishing simply to help fight against Voldemort." He continued earning a nod from the woman.

"I have long since suspected that some of my Aurors were in your group Dumbledore, as long as it does not interfere with their duties that I am willing to amuse them."

"There is also one other matter that is, shall we say, unorthodox than the others," He remarked making Amelia frown in displeasure, swiftly catching on to what he was implying. "I trust this man Amelia; I believe his story and have been given evidence to the fact. Please, I ask that you allow him to stay hidden for the time being, or use your powers to grant him a new trial."

"Who exactly are you talking about Dumbledore?" She questioned yet the aged Headmaster shook his head and rose to his feet.

Following suit, Amelia followed the Headmaster until they stood away from his desk. Fawkes, the phoenix, flew to land on his friends shoulder and after grasping her own shoulder, they both vanished in a burst of flames.

When they re-appeared, Amelia felt rather disoriented. She had never had the opportunity to travel via Pheonix flames and to be perfectly honest she would rather keep to Apperation thank you very much. Regaining herself didn't take very long thankfully, after all, she was still an Auror.

Looking around her surroundings, she felt rather odd. Instead, of the Headmaster office, she had previously stood in, she now stood in a very gloomy and dark room or kitchen as it so had it. There was no light inside the room, no windows to reveal her surroundings only one occupant other than herself and the Headmaster were there and he seemed rather surprised by their arrival.

"Amelia," Remus greeted still rather shocked yet able to remember his manners.

"Remus," she returned rather surprised to find the younger man there. "Where exactly are we?" She finally questioned earning a smile from the Headmaster.

"You will no doubt learn the moment you observe your surroundings soon but allow me to welcome you, Amelia, to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix and the Ancestral home to the Black Family." Dumbledore announced making Amelia tense instantly.

If this was indeed the ancestral home the Blacks then there was only one way they could have been allowed to set foot within and that was with the permission of either the current Head of Family or the Heir to the family. As the only surviving member of the main branch to the Black family was Sirius Black then that meant…

"Amelia Bones," came a grunting voice that had her spinning on her heel and her hand going to her wand yet she froze the moment she saw him.

He looked vastly different than his pictures from his time in Azkaban. His hair was cleaner, and shorter. His beard trimmed and well taken care of. He had gained a tiny bit of weight and wore proper clothes yet Amelia could still clearly see the effects of Azkaban upon him. Sirius Black had vastly changed from the young youthful Auror she had worked with in her past.

"Sirius Black," she growled while slowly pulling her wand out, still she was surprised when the man did not pull his own wand out yet simply gazed at her with broken gray eyes that had once been filled with humor and laughter.

"Ah Sirius, I see you have finally left…" "I simply came to get a glass of water," the man grunted before walking towards the sink where he filled a goblet with water.

Goblet filled he turned to look at them again before speaking. "If she's here to be told the truth, then I have no objections, maybe she can find out who sent them after her."

With that, he left the kitchen leaving Amelia very surprised until she spun on the two other people in the room.

"You are housing a convicted criminal!" "Technically he is hosting us, this is his house after all," Lupin remarked making her scowl, at the man who simply gave her a smile. "He is a wanted criminal Dumbledore; you yourself said he was dangerous." She declared while turning on the aged man who gave her a nod.

"That was before I knew the truth Amelia; you see Sirius was in fact not the Secret Keeper to James and Lily. He was meant to be a decoy while they used another person as Secret-Keeper, Peter Pettigrew."

"What proof do you have of this Dumbledore," "I saw him Amelia, Pettigrew; he was hiding as a rat while Sirius rotted in Azkaban." Remus declared while rising to his feet. "and Sirius does not possess the Dark Mark upon his arm. He is no Death Eater and did not kill all of those people. He was framed."

Gazing at the two men, Amelia could not help but feel overwhelmed. The thought that Sirius Black could actually be innocent was preposterous, how could the Ministry send an innocent man to Azkaban?

"He never received a trial Amelia; Sirius was never given the chance to prove his innocence." Dumbledore voiced. "Something Cornelius chose not to mention yet overlooks. He placed the kiss on sight order simply because he did not want to be placed in a bad light if the truth were to ever be revealed. For now, though why do we not place this topic to rest, you have come for a very specific reason. Please follow me,"

As the Dumbledore left the kitchen area, Amelia gave Remus one last withering look before following after him. Arriving on, what she perceived as the main level, she gaze around only to be reminded of a very dark house. Snake accents decorated walls, and the rather revolting sight of House elves heads hung on one wall. It was clear that this house had belonged to a dark family and it was rather frightening how two young children had been raised inside its halls.

As Dumbledore continued up the rather grand staircase, Amelia once more trailed behind him passing by an odd flowing curtain as she did so. Arriving on the second floor they swiftly continued to the third and top floor of the house. There the Headmaster went to one room and gave a gentle knock before gingerly opening the door.

Stepping into the room as the door was opened for her; Amelia was instantly welcomed by a sight rather odd. The room they were now standing in, was dark, the only light inside, given by the candles scattered around the room. The walls were painted, to what she saw a soft blue with the elegant trim and décor of an old classical house. A single fireplace was against one wall, a small fire burning in it while a bed was against the opposing wall. The bed was large yet elegant with luxurious gold and red bedding decorating its surface. Sitting beside the bed was Sirius Black who sat hunched over, as though he was watching over whoever slept in the bed.

Gazing at Dumbledore with a questioning look, she wanted to ask him why he had brought her to this room yet he simply shook his head and motioned for her to approach.

Feeling rather odd, she did as told and as she approached, the bed a figure became more obvious yet it was only when she stood directly behind Sirius that she could gaze upon the figure laying on the bed.

Laying there seemingly asleep was a young girl, around fifteen. She was thin and pale, her hair braided and held to one side yet what surprised Amelia was the small strands of silver that were mixed with the thick strands of black.

Instant reorganization filled Amelia's mind as she gazed at the figure lying on the bed. She, like so many others, had seen photos of the Girl-Who-lived. Yet she had never seen her like this and something told her, that not all was right. Something was most definitely wrong.

"What… is wrong with her?" She asked softly.

"Isn't it obvious," Sirius whispered, voice hollow as he gazed at his goddaughter.

"Amelia, Téa was kissed this summer, kissed by a Dementor," Dumbledore revealed, making her eyes widen and her entire figure tense as she gazed down at the savior of the wizarding world.

"How…" she whispered yet she could not continue, this could not have happened, when had this happened?

"We are unsure, Amelia, but we do have our suspicions," Dumbledore answered and as she turned her gaze from the young teen on the bed to the aged Headmaster, she instantly noticed just how old he seemed.

* * *

 **Author note 2:**

 **Explanation of the maze:**

The maze represents some of a person's deepest fears. Each person fears something different so the maze will change for each person. In Téa's case, she holds fears of various degrees on various subjects some of which she chooses not to acknowledge or inform others of. Her fear of heights, for example, I have been asked multiple times how Téa's fear of heights could be possible if she was still playing quidditch? Her fear is not fear of flying. She's capable of flying very well and has confidence in her abilities she also trust's the brooms she flies, they have both been top of the line brooms. Her fear comes when she is standing on a high building looking down. She fears heights in that manner.

As you go through the maze, your fears become more and more dangerous or deep. They rear their ugly head and bite you in the arse, they are the hardest to overcome but when you have a reason to overcome them they become easier to do so. Some fears are irrational, everybody has irrational fears, but they are still fears and sometimes those can be the worst fears of all.


	6. Chapter six

**_Chapter six_**

 ** _I can't do that!_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

 **...**

Stepping up the last step of the knee-shaking staircase, Téa turned her gaze downwards and shuddered. Somewhat out of breath, she turned back to the landing to find herself face to face with a thick iron door within a wall of shrubbery. She had finally arrived at the end of the maze.

Slowly moving towards the double doors, she pushed at them and instantly her surroundings changed. Everything turned dark, a darkness so thick that she couldn't see through it at all. Feeling completely vulnerable, she allowed her wand to slip back into her hand and gripped it tightly. Around her neck, Attor became, even more, alert yet it was all futile as in little time a bright light blinded her, and before she could react fully she was shoved down and spun until the back of her knees hit what felt like stone and she was forced to sit down. As soon as she did, her arms and legs were bound to the stone of the furniture.

Eyes still blind from the light, it was worsened as the darkness was flashed away by more lights being turned on.

"Holly Fuck…" "Language of that level should not be coming from the mouth of a young lady," Came a male voice that had tensing immediately and slowly the rope that held her to her chair disappeared.

She knew that voice, oh, she knew that voice, she would never forget it.

"Ce… Cedric…" she whispered horror filling her as soon as the name slipped from her lips. "No… no, it can… can't be you…"

Just as she was about to rise, she was stopped as a person stepped into her vision, a tale handsome boy that she knew instantly and no sooner did she set eyes upon him did her vision began to blur. Tears fought against her restraints and as she brought her hands up to cover her lips she choked back a sob.

"Téa," Cedric Diggory whispered before swiftly pulling her to her feet and engulfing her into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she finally sobbed, body shaking as she buried her face in his chest.

"Hey now, why you saying that?" Cedric gently questioned before slowly pulling her away from him. "Téa don't you even dare apologies. It isn't your fault, my death was not your fault Téa," he told her gently, eyes boring into her own.

"You wouldn't have been there…" "I was a champion just like you Téa, chosen before you." Cedric swiftly interrupted her before giving him a smile. "I want you to understand Téa you are not to blame for my death, we wanted to give Hogwarts complete glory, show a united front, show that two houses could work together. So please, I don't want to see tears in those beautiful green eyes of yours. This might be the last time I get to see them and I want to see them in their complete glory." He whispered making her laugh although it was more of a choked out sound than anything.

Doing as told, she whipped at her eyes before gazing back up at Cedric who gave her a bright smile.

"You're facing your biggest fear Téa," He murmured, trying his best to reassure her. "facing me."

"I'm so sorry Cedric, even if you say it wasn't my fault, I did have a part in it." She murmured and just as Cedric moved to open his mouth, she placed a delicate finger upon his lips, stopping him. "My name was placed in that cup, and then forced out. My participation in that fucking tournament only to be used as a pawn to bring back the psychopath that is known as Voldemort. You were never part of that equation Cedric. You should not have been in the cemetery, Voldemort wanted me not you. I want you to understand that I never wanted that."

"I know you would never want that Téa, but you didn't know any of this back then. Please, know that I do not and will never blame you for my death." Cedric whispered before giving her a wink. "Plus you look too hot in that outfit to blame,"

Snorting at that statement, she slapped his arm before giving him another hug. Just then Attor made herself known and Cedric gazed down at it in shock.

"Oh, Cedric meet Attor, she's a friend of mine." She introduced while gently running a finger over Attor's scales.

"Wow, interesting, well it's nice to meet… her…?" He asked curiously and when she gave a nod, he relaxed. "Now Téa, I want you to stay strong, you have a difficult journey ahead of you."

"I'll do anything in my power to get through this Cedric. I can't leave my friends and family without help. I will not abandon them." She declared earning a smile from her friend.

"Just remember to keep your wand close and your mind sharp. I want you to make it back not just because your friends need you but… there is something I learned. Téa I have a request." He whispered making her gaze it him curiously.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"My mother, she is pregnant Téa, I'm going to be a big brother," He answered making her eyes widen in shock. "I will never get to know the child, but I want my sibling to know me. I have had friends yes, but we've spoken more than I have spoken to others last year Téa. You know things about me that others do not. I want you to tell my sibling that when they get older." Cedric requested making Téa smile.

"I can do that Cedric. I can do that and more." She agreed, earning a soft smile from the boy before he hugged her again.

"Thank you Téa, by the way, that boy James Evans, he is safe," Cedric informed her making her smile. "Sorted into…" "Gryffindor," she finished making his eyes widen in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"I had a dream, or vision I don't know what but I saw the sorting this year. I don't know how it's possible Cedric, but I have a feeling that it was real." She whispered earning a confused look from the boy yet that confusion soon turned to a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry Téa we're going to have to part ways," he murmured before pulling her back into his embrace. "Make it back to them Téa, they need you and remember. My death was not your fault."

"Goodbye Cedric," she murmured feeling her tears begin to well again. "I will make sure the rat pays,"

"You kick their ass," he whispered before vanishing leaving Téa alone in the large blank room that only held the stone chair she had been forced into.

Slowly sitting back down on the chair, she pulled the book from her chosen storage spot and grew it back to normal size. The moment she did, she found new writing upon the pages and swiftly began to read.

 _ **Congratulations, you have completed the first task of your journey! Now you most likely have not noticed the changes that have begun to happen to your body. These changes come from this journey and are also happening on your true body in the soul realm. In most people, the color of your hair will most likely start to change from its normal color to a silver white color. This is a side effect of having your soul taken from your body for a long period.**_

This made Téa still, slowly she lowered the book and using her wand summoned a mirror to hover before her. The moment she received her first glance into the mirror she swiftly spotted the changes. Her once pure black hair was slowly changing; she now had strands of silver mixed within it. The silver was such a sharp contrast against the black hair that it was swiftly noticeable.

Heart racing and eyes still wide she turned her attention back to the book upon her lap.

 _ **Your next task is upon you. In this very room, you will be beginning the second task, a series of duels. If you can pass every duel you may pass on. Each duel will, of course, become harder and harder to do, either in skill or in numbers. Your previous duels will determine the next duel. Once one duel is complete, a door will open and you will have to enter a new room to do the next duel. In addition, you will be handed a mask that you must wear, when a dueler is defeated they will have to remove their mask. You may as well if you so wish.**_

 _ **Good luck young traveler, and fight bravely.**_

Passage complete Téa shut her book before settling back against her chair. She had completed the maze. It felt so unreal that she could barely believe it, but she had made it out of the maze alive. Now she was up against her next task. Dueling hadn't been her strong suit. She had only ever dueled twice in her life and they were both laughable. She had a small mock duel with Malfoy then there was her duel with Voldemort.

"You seem worried Mistress, what is making you so?" Attor questioned.

"What did I say about you cal- oh never mind you won't stop," She grumbled before running a hand through her now silver and black hair. "I'm going to be forced to duel people Attor, I barely know how to duel little alone spells to use."

"My master once taught me that you do not need to know many spells to duel a person. You simply need to know how to protect yourself and use as little energy as possible doing so. You also need to know how to disarm your opponent as quickly as possible." Attor advised her making her blink down at the snake that had slithered upon her lap. "I believe that you have a chance Mistress, you simply must believe in your abilities and think."

Staring down at the snake Téa felt her heart swell before she gingerly brought the snake up and gave it a gentle hug.

"Thank you Attor, I have to admit having you here sure does boost my confidence." With that, Attor gave a hiss of agreement and as she allowed the snake to slither back onto her shoulders she shrank the book and placed it back into its holding place.

She would need to get passed these duels to get the next task and getting past this task meant she would be closer to getting back to her own body and to helping her friends and family.

"Time to start," she announced before standing from the chair.

The moment she did, her surroundings changed. Gone was the white light instead, she could now see the room she was standing in. The room was large and circular in shape. It was rather simple looking, with a stone wall and stone floor. The only light now came from the small fires that were placed around the outer edge of the room. The chair she had been sitting on was gone although it had been situated in the center of the room. Where it once was now was a mask that was placed on the ground.

Approaching it she gingerly bent down and picked it up. Rising back to her full height, she turned it around and came face to face with a very simple mask. It was painted a mat black finish, had two slits for her eyes and looked to be the face of a feline.

"Well, here goes-" she mumbled before slipping he mask onto her face while pulling her hair out of the way. The moment she was done arranging it the flames intensified slightly and a door opened allowing a single person to enter.

Her first opponent wasn't overly big, actually, although she was positive that her opponent was male she couldn't one hundred percent be sure. Dressed in wizarding robes that hid much from view, her opponent also wore a hood long sleeved cloak of sorts that hid any hair while a silver mask covered his face from view.

"Round one," she mumbled before approaching her opponent who was slowly walking towards her.

Hesitating only a moment they both shook hands before stepping back and taking up their positions. Within seconds, her opponent began his assault yet it Téa swiftly noticed that whoever her opponent was, they weren't overly talented. She recognized most of the spells as being low-level third-year spells. His movements were also slow, and choppy.

Using a well-placed tripping charm, followed by a binding and then a disarming spell her opponent found himself on the ground unarmed and defeated. As he looked up at her, the mask disappeared to reveal a pale-faced teenage boy with messy blonde hair and brown eyes. Before she could even ask him his name, he disappeared in a burst of flames.

"Okay, whoever designed this journey is seriously sadistic," she grumbled before a door appeared to her right. Knowing she had to go through it to pass towards her next task. Looking to were her last opponent was she shook her head before moving on

…

Hogwarts was different, concluded James as he went back to Gryffindor tower after his last class. When he had received his letter this summer, he had been both shocked and amazed. He knew there were odd things out there, after all, Téa had showed him that, but he never believed that he could have been a wizard. His parents had been just as shocked as he yet seemed happy.

When he arrived he more than expected to find Téa attending Hogwarts as well but he never saw her, never saw her but he heard of her. It must have been the topic the students spoke of the most; Téaleon Potter was not returning to Hogwarts and what had happened last year.

He had been shocked when he read the paper. Seeing Téa on the front page in that dress was not something he had ever seen but then reading the article had made his head spin. He didn't want to believe what the paper was saying, Téa wouldn't harm anybody. She was always so kind, and she had protected him.

"Hey, James! They're doing Quidditch Tryout for Gryffindor right now, you want to go see them?" Came a female voice that had him turning to see one of his best friends hurrying towards him. Antoinette Beloved had bright blonde hair amber eyes; she was also into sports just like him.

"Sure!" He agreed, hoping to learn something about the magical sport.

"I heard they're looking for a reserve Seeker. Apparently, the captain this year, Angelina Johnson believes that the other Seeker, Téaleon Potter, will return at some point this year. Did you know she was the youngest seeker of the Century? She also only ever lost one game she played, it was during her third year and a swarm of Dementors surrounded the field." Antoinette gushed making James' eyes widen.

"You know a lot about her?" He mumbled making Antoinette blush.

"She's a hero, but that's not really why I idolize her. She's a brilliant Quidditch player and amazing flyer. I sort of wanted to see her in action myself this year, but that's not possible because she's not here. I wish I could have seen at least seen her fly once." Antoinette admitted while they hurried out of the castle and down the lawns. "You know last year she outflew a dragon!"

"Did you know she has a fear of heights?" James asked for the first time revealing that he actually knew Téa.

"What? No way! That's impossible and plus you've never met her!" Antoinette exclaimed making him chuckle.

"I do know her Nette, I live near her. We both live in Surrey. She's a friend, we spoke during the summers and she protected me against her bully of a cousin. She once told me that she had a fear of heights. I don't know how she can fly if she's afraid of going into the air." James thought out loud before they arrived at the Quidditch field and James got his first view of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the amount of people who were trying out for the team. "Wow, that's a lot of Gryffindors,"

"Come on let's get a good seat!"

Clambering up the steps, they swiftly found themselves in the stands and found two seats that gave them a great view of the pitch. Sitting down, it didn't take long for the tryouts to begin and boy were there some funny moments.

...

"Fucking shit, that guy hit me with a damn cutting hex," Téa exclaimed as she gazed down at her bleeding hand. "He got what was sent at him," she grumbled before taking her wand and slowly bringing it over her wound. As she did so she mumbled the only healing spell she knew and really she needed to learn a few more of those. She'd have to consider that when she returned to her body. It would be all well and dandy if she could duel well but if she was hurt and unable to heal it on her own then she could easily be at a disadvantage.

"It is your fault mistress, you were not fast enough, at least now you know to move quicker." Attor remarked making her growl at the snake.

"You're supposed to be boosting my confidence not shooting it down."

"No, I am supposed to keep you level headed. If I boost your ego too high then you will become unbalanced." Attor answered back making Téa grumble. "Now your hand is healed, let us move on to your next duel."

"Slave driver," she grumbled in English before flexing her hand.

Satisfied with it, she turned towards the newly formed door. The duel she had just completed had been her second duel, she had gone up against two duelists, one had turned out to be female the other male. They had been better than the first duel and worked well together, even she could see that. They also used higher-level spells than the first duellist did. She had no doubt that each duel would be harder than the other in some sort of way.

Grabbing the handle, she pushed the door opened and the moment she did she realized that the room seemed smaller than the other two. Walking through the door, it swiftly disappeared leaving her without an exit.

As she moved towards the center of the room, two figures appeared on either side of her. Each figure was dressed differently. One wore slightly baggy white pants and a tight fitting blue tube top that revealed the figure to be a woman. She had long blond hair that was pulled into a high ponytail and her mask was that of a rabbit. The other figure wore similar pants yet done in dark gray with a long sleeved gray shirt over it that hid their own figure. Their own hair was braided back and they wore a frog's mask.

Shifting into a somewhat relaxed stance, she waited patiently for somebody to move first. Two against one meant that she would have to be patient. The question remained, though, how powerful were these two duelists compared to the others and compared to her.

"Do not let your guard down," Attor hissed into her ear and no sooner had the snake hissed that did the two duelists begin their assault each one sending high-powered stunning spells towards her. Instincts taking control she quickly bent, avoiding both spells by inches before using her position to propel herself forward.

Rolling to a stop, she swiftly brought her wand up casting her own counter spells towards each member. Both were dodged as the two other duelists reviled their own speed. Thinking for a moment, she knew she had to take the two duelists off balance, something that wasn't expected. She needs them confused… that was it!

"Arania Exumai!" She cried and with a burst of bright, light both figures were blasted back, slamming against the room's circular wall. Without missing a beat, she disarmed both duelists before binding them.

"Seems I did learn something from the other duel," She chirped to Attor.

"Next time warn me, that blasted light was not good for my vision," She grumbled making Téa chuckle softly before rising from her kneeling position.

The moment she did the masks on both disappeared, revealing two women, each looking identical to the other. As they burst into flames and disappeared, Téa looked away. It wouldn't have been bad if she didn't know who she was dueling when they burst into flames, but now she could place faces to the duelist and it seemed just… wrong when they burst into flames.

Author note:

I have a question for my reviewers. I have been debating with myself and I will change it if I'm wrong but is it Duellers or Duelist's? Please, I would actually like to know the answer to this question.

Thanks for reading and for all the reviews I have received. I love hearing from readers about the story and hope to hear from more of you. Enjoy!


	7. Chapter seven

**Chapter seven**

 **Testing of intelligence truly can be a bitch**

 ** _..._**

* * *

 **...**

Author note:

Well damn, I just finished reading the reviews I got for the last chapter and I just have to say, thanks. To know that many people are liking this story makes me happy. I knew it was a rather different and, I hope, un-used idea, which is sort of hard to do.

For all of those who wrote back with their answers for my question, I am grateful. As readers who have read older stories I have written, I hope you could tell that I am trying to improve in my grammar and that is no small feat I must say!

There are many of you who have asked about James Evans, well the truth is I don't know just yet what I'm going to do with the little guy. Not what you guys want to hear is it, lol. Still he will keep on being part of the story so we shall see what is happening there hum. Now I have received many questions about relationships and up to date, there are none in my head to go about. I suck at romance, as I've realized over my stories but once again it is up to change, everything is in this world!

So anyway, I wanted to say thank you to all those people who read the story and to all of those who review thank you even more! I love hearing comments from people, they help writers write better! They also urge a writer on when they're going through a block.

* * *

Dodging another trust from her attacker, she sent a counterattack of her own in the form of a blasting hex yet the other duelist avoided it very quickly. Already she had defeated two members of this duel; apparently, she was worthy enough to go up to three duelists. These duelists were quick and had great agility, yet this one seemed to be more powerful than she was or, at least, more knowledgeable.

She needed a plan, some way to defeat this person. He was a better duelist than she was but she needed to out think him, to do that she needed to find a weakness. Up to this point, he seemed more confident in using brute force then using his magic, which was odd for a wizard. Normally they were opposite, so it could mean that he didn't always have magic, or was simply un-educated in magic. It could be a theory she could work with and use to her advantage. She had read at some point during her research for the Triwizard Tournament that some people used transfiguration in duels, to bring advantages to their side.

McGonagall had only briefly spoken of it during her classes so it wasn't something they really knew how to do but they had learned various lessons, maybe human transfiguration wasn't as difficult as people thought. She knew that intent worked wonders in magic, and will power.

Confidence boosted she pictured what she needed before sending her spell at her opponent. Sadly they avoided it and lunged at her again. Sidestepping him, she used this small amount of time to send another spell, this time, aimed at Duelists back hitting them dead center. The moment the spell made contact the man crumbled to the ground as her spell worked its magic turning her once very quick opponent into nothing but a turtle.

Body slacking in relief she wiped her brow before sending a knockout jinx towards the turtle causing it to fall asleep before she turned him back to human form and took his wand away. Magic somewhat drained after that show of transfiguration she took a moment to take a breather yet it was not long before the duelist's identity was revealed.

"Well, maybe I need to practice Human transfiguration a bit more considering how useful it could be," She muttered to Attor before slumping onto the ground exhausted.

These duels were taking their toll on her. It seemed whatever was straying off hunger during her time in the maze had worn off and she was now feeling exhaustion like a normal person.

"Perhaps you should rest a moment before continuing on to your next duel Mistress. It would not do for you to loose from exhaustion." Attor advised making her smile down at the snake upon her shoulders.

"You know Attor if this wasn't a soul threatening situation I would actually like these duels. It's interesting and fun." She remarked earning a soft nod from her companion. "There is a Professor at my school, Professor Flitwick. He teaches Charms and was said to be a competitive duellist, at least in his youth I assume. I wonder if he would tell me more about competitive dueling when I get back."

"Perhaps it would be a good idea Mistress, a great chance to test your skills against various opponents."

"Maybe it's something I can consider for my future if I get back okay and if I survive Voldemort," Téa mumbled before pushing herself back onto her feet.

"Mistress, you must explain this Voldemort man to me, who is he?" The snake questioned making her sigh.

"He's a really evil guy Attor but for now, why don't we finish these duels before I go into that section of my life," She remarked before walking through the door into the next duel.

…

"Well done Mister Weasley! Ten points to Gryffindor for an excellent summoning charm, you and Miss Granger are getting very good at them I must say." Professor Flitwick complimented clearly pleased.

"It must have been all the practice last year sir," Ron remarked earning a nod from the small teacher who continued on, chiding various students who seemed to have more difficulty.

"So I think I found us the perfect place to stay away from people," Hermione stated making Ron look up from his doodling to stare at Hermione. "Dobby made the suggestion; he calls it the come and go room. He told me where it was and how to get into it. Apparently, all you have to do is pass in front of it three times while thinking about what you want."

"Nobody knows about it?" Ron asked curiously.

"Apparently people have been in it without realizing it, its sort of never found again after you find it the first time," Hermione answered earning a nod of agreement from her red headed friend.

"Then it sounds perfect, why don't we check it out tonight?" He offered.

"It's the Ravenclaw's turn to patrol the corridors tonight so I don't see why not, plus the older Prefects can handle the Gryffindor Common room." Hermione agreed before Professor Flitwick began handing out assignments.

Moments later the bell rang signaling the end of class and the group began to gather their items before heading out to their next class, double Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Tuesdays were a decent day out of their schedule with Charms, followed by Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. By far their worst days were Mondays and Friday's with Monday having History, Potions, Divination or study of Ancient Runes and Defense, Friday only had Defense but it was still unpleasant considering their teacher was a bigoted toad.

Transfiguration must have become their favorite subject as a whole for teachers. Herbology wasn't bad, although Sprout wasn't overly kind to them. Flitwick was still the same but it was McGonagall who had changed the most. With one of her students in such a situation, she had changed towards the two of them. It didn't mean they were let to do as they so pleased, she just seemed to care a bit more about most of her lions, protective even. Those who complained about Téa though got detentions and an earful.

Entering Transfiguration they swiftly took their accustom seats, right beside a set of windows. Settling into their seats, they were just about to settle when McGonagall entered the class and motioned for them both to follow her.

Confused they hurried to do so, following her into her office.

"What's wrong Professor, has something happened to Téa?" Hermione asked earning a sigh from the older woman.

"Téa's condition is beginning to worsen. The first sign is hair color loss. Her hair is slowly turning silver in some strands. Madam Pomfrey estimated that by the end of the month of perhaps two she would have lost all color in her hair." Professor McGonagall explained before urging them to sit down. "This means that her magic is slowly draining her body of valued nutrient to try and keep the body alive."

Here both students remained quiet; the thought that they would be losing their best friend before they thought was not sitting very well. Yet this time, it was Ron who spoke.

"How – how long does she have Professor? Till you know…"

The question hung in the air as Professor McGonagall turned her gaze towards her folded hands.

"Madam Pomfrey estimates that Téa's body will shut down before Christmas. She's been placed on numerous monitoring charms so you will be able to say goodbye before she leaves us completely. I'm sorry to both of you that there was nothing else we could do." Professor McGonagall murmured her tone one of sadness as she gazed at her two Gryffindors.

"Is – is there no way to fix this? Is there no way to get her soul back to her body?" Hermione asked finally feeling the pressure built to the point of no return as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Not much is known about the Dementors Hermione, but what we do know isn't good. I'm sorry but we couldn't say for sure that there was a way to return her soul if there was Professor Dumbledore would have done anything in his power to find it."

"I – she has a will," Ron mumbled weakly shocking both Hermione and Professor McGonagall. "She told me in a letter at the start of summer. Two days after arriving at Privet Drive, she went to Gringotts using the Knight Buss and proceeded to make a will. I told her she was being foolish that there was no reason she should make one but she insisted. I… she sent me a copy, saying I should have it just in case." Here he stopped talking feeling his throat constrict at the thought of the sealed envelope sitting at the bottom of his trunk out of sight to best forget it. "I wanted to burn it when she sent it to me but… I… it's at the bottom of my trunk,"

This made both Professor McGonagall and Hermione pale. Ron couldn't blame them, it tore at him thinking that Téa thought the need to create one and in the end, she had been right.

"I shall inform the Headmaster of this, thank you, Ron," Professor McGonagall murmured before dabbing at her eyes. "I will have a house elf gather it from your trunk if that is alright with you, and bring it to the Headmaster. I have excused you both from my class and your future classes for the day. Here are your slips in the case you are questioned. Today is a hard day on all of us you both will not be able to concentrate fully on your work if you remain in class."

For a moment, it looked like Hermione was going to protest but with a soft thank you from Ron, he grabbed both slips and pulled Hermione with him as he left the office behind. Going to their desk's they ignored the stairs from the other students as they gathered their items and left class.

"Where did you say that room was again Hermes, I think we need it?" He grunted.

…

After her class, Minerva McGonagall swiftly walked the halls to the Headmasters office. She had indeed sent a house elf to gather the "document" yet told it to bring the "document" to her instead. She would personally deliver it to the Headmaster instead of a house elf.

"Ah Minerva, how pleasant to see you," came a voice that had every nerve in her body tensing.

"Dolores, pleasure," she greeted, eyes narrowed as she spotted the woman. "Perhaps later we should speak, I do have an important meeting with the Headmaster to attend if you'll excuse me,"

"Actually, I had noticed that Miss Potter's name is still placed on the Hogwarts Registry, I would find it odd that it would be there as the Ministry assumes she took enrollment to another school," Dolores remarked making using her simpering annoying voice which grated on the Head of Gryffindor's nerves.

"The Headmaster hopes to see Miss Potter return to Hogwarts in the next year if such a thing does not come to pass then her name will be pulled from the registry, for now though it will remain. Now, Dolores, I must attend a meeting with the Headmaster," Not giving the new Defense Professor a second glance she briskly walked away not wishing to discuss anything more with the woman.

Arriving at the statue of the Griffin, she gave it the password before heading up the steps. Arriving at the top, she gave a swift knock before entering the Headmaster's office.

"Ah Minerva, welcome, welcome please sit. I assume you have come to me to discuss an important subject," He greeted a smile upon his face, which she returned with a sad one of her own.

"Indeed Albus, the subject is… not an appealing one yet one I thought it best to bring to your attention. Mister Weasley brought it to my own when I informed him and Miss Granger of Mi - Téa's condition." She told before placing the document upon the desk. "Mister Weasley informed me that Téa had gone to Gringotts, two days into her summer holidays. In that trip, she had a will made."

As the statement settled into the aged Headmaster's mind his shoulders slumped and his eyes dropped to the sealed envelope on his desk. Feeling every bit his age, he grabbed the envelope and pulled it towards him. The envelope was deep blue in color, quiet odd for parchment, its wax seal was gold and the crest upon its center was the crest of the Potter family. It had been a long time since the crest had been seen in public and he was unaware that Téa had possessed the heir ring of the family, yet clearly, the child knew more about things then he expected.

"She made a will Albus, a child not even fifteen yet made a will. She expected to die during this war!" Minerva exclaimed, her emotions finally coming to the surface before slumping into a chair a look of great sadness upon her face. "I so wish there was something we could do,"

"The effects of the Dementors Kiss is highly unknown, it is hard to research. I wish I could say that we will be able to find a solution but… none of the books in my possession hold any knowledge." He admitted before resting back into his own seat.

…

Crashing into a wall, Téa felt her body protest all movements she tried to make. This was her tenth duel and until this point, things had been going steady if not a little harder every level. She was facing four opponents this round and they each seemed equally powerful, what made it even worse was the fact that she knew they weren't human. She knew that two of her opponents were werewolves and the other two were vampires. Each one with superhuman strength and heightened speed and hearing, she could even whisper her spells or they would know how to counter it leaving her to perform wordless spells, which were a pain in her ass considering she was really not comfortable using it and some of her spells just didn't seem to work.

Attor, upon realizing she was facing four rather powerful creatures, had risen to the challenge and would bite anybody she could, already she had taken a rather good bite out of one of the werewolves. She had tried to form a plan but facing four wasn't easy and she was exhausted. She needed to even up the numbers but how to do so was not coming to her at the moment.

"If only I had one more person or another creature, no offense Attor but you're small compared to these - wait a minute!" She cried in parseltongue an idea swiftly forming in her head. "Why this didn't come to me sooner I have no idea! Attor slither down, we're going to make you one giant snake!"

All bet confused the snake did as told and before the four could catch on she aimed her wand at the serpent and hissed Engorgio. The moment her spell hit Attor, the serpent began to grow in size until finally she was as large as a horse, head turning towards her she gave the snake a smirk, which earned her a wink before the serpent lunged forward taking out one of her opponents right away.

With great satisfaction and a bit more of energy at seeing her friend so large, she also jumped into battle, this time feeling a bit more confident. If she could cast a spell in parseltongue than that would give her an advantage against the others, they wouldn't be able to understand a thing she said. The only other persons he knew who spoke the language of the snakes was Voldemort.

This would be a great advantage during duels that she would have to keep up on and screw anybody who looked at her oddly for speaking the language. It was idiotic to believe that a language could be dark.

Pulling from her thoughts, she moved swiftly, using her body to trip her first opponent, sending him crashing to the ground before she pounced on him, wand swiftly going to his neck where she sent a petrifying curse. Pulling the man's wand from his hand, she turned upon the next as Attor wrapped herself once more around another, squeezing him so tightly he lost conscious and passed out.

Without that, she dropped the other wand and before long, she was going up against her last opponent. This one seemed a bit rougher than the other as he swiftly used his speed to his advantage forcing her to dodge yet the moment she did she realized that she had not been quick enough as she felt pain shout through her side. Rolling to her feet, her hand moved to her side only to pull it away to find blood upon her fingers.

Hand returning to her side, she summoned as much magic as she could and with a blast so powerful she stumbled back sent a stunning hex towards her enemy. The hex hit the man and with a cry he was thrown back, hitting the wall and does not move. The only indication that he is alive is that his chest rises and falls as he breathed.

"This, I will admit, has been a very tiresome part of your journey, Mistress," Attor hissed while slithering over.

"I very much agree," Téa huffed and just as the four duellists disappeared in flames, the door appeared and she gave a tired sigh. She truly wondered how many more duels she would have to go through until this task would end.

"Take a moment Mistress, mend your wound and gather yourself. It is no use going against more duellist's whilst you are in such a condition." Attor ordered and Téa gave a soft smile before slumping to the ground.

Raising her wand, she returned Attor to her normal size before turning her wand upon her side. Slowly healing it to the best of her abilities she rested for some more time, catching her breath until finally she rose and walked towards the door, Attor upon her shoulder. The sooner she would finish this part of her journey the better it would be.

Opening the door, she walked inside and the moment she did she was welcomed by the room she had used at the start of her journey into the Maze. Relief flooded her even as her book zoomed from its hiding place to her hand showing it had a new passage to read.

Relief filled her like it hadn't after the maze. To receive a break was like a blessing, she would finally be able to take more than a moment's pause.

Slowly walking towards the bed, she slumped onto it. Attor, seemingly pleased slithered down upon it and relaxed as well.

Running a finger over the snake's scales she turned her attention to her book and swiftly opened it. Finding her page, she began to read.

 _ **Congratulations young soul, you have completed the second task set upon your shoulders, yet this task was, unlike many others, simply a test.**_

 _ **Now yes, said test had to be passed but gave a view of what is needed. Every person who goes through the journey receives aid in some sort of way to actually give them the chance to show their best in this journey. For the evening, you will remain here; recuperate from your time in the maze and you testing. Food will be provided and your clothing will be washed while you bath. Take note that you little companion will be allowed to continue with you.**_

This made Téa smile, to have Attor with her was surprisingly comforting and to have her continue with her was even more so. The snake might not stop calling her Mistress and she had given up on making her do so but she was good to talk to, gave good advice and pushed her passed what she believed she could do. She often thought the snake's time in the real world had been in the ancient times where magic was performed differently than their days.

 _ **The thought of trusting your magic as much as she was doing wasn't overly normal in their time, they liked to trust more in their ability to perform the magic and the amount of spells one knew. She was gaining valuable lessons alone from the snake and truly considered her a friend.**_

 _ **The next part of your journey will be lessons of a sort. You will receive seasons with five individual. All of these individuals are deceased as you well imagine but have been chosen for you for very specific reasons. Some have a good history, some have bad history others have no history yet have exceptional talent in certain fields.**_

This made Téa frown. She knew nothing was known about this trial, yet it seemed odd that they would be given the time to try and learn things to actually succeed in passing the trial. To learn from historical figures or even people who lived in the pass could be very beneficial once she returned to her body.

 _ **To pass on from teacher to teacher you must gave their approval and reach the standard they so wish. Sometimes the hardest challenge is to gain such a feet and some of these teachers are harder to please them some.**_

 _ **As is, take the time to soak in the fact that you have completed the first two parts of your journey, you have done so very well as well and with intelligence.**_

 _ **Be brave young lion**_

Passage complete she shut the book and for a moment contemplated simply laying on the bed but chose to once again take a nice long bath. It would help sooth her muscles and her body and maybe within that time her clothes would have been cleaned. If not, well she would have no choice but to walk around with a sheet or something around her body. Placing the book down, she stood from the bed and after sending the sleeping snake, a soft smile walked towards the bathroom.

* * *

Author note:

I understand that Ronald Weasley is not acting like himself, well he wont be. Téa being kissed changed a lot of things for the golden trio. Ron lost one of his best friends, he would be angry and moody, and just plain different. He's going to be doing some growing up and understanding that sometimes you need to work for things in life, actually you always have to work for things in life. It's not handed to you on a silver platter. He chooses to try and change so that he can continue the fight for Téa.

Thanks again to all of you and hope you guys have a good year!


	8. Chapter eight

_**Alan Rickman, was an amazing actor, not only in his role as Severus Snape but also in other roles he has played in movies, such as Robin Hood, etc. It is sad that we have lost him so soon, yet he will always be in our memories and he will live on through countless amazing performances. He brought amazing talent to movies and one will always remember his amazing sultry voice, because to be honest people he did have a great voice.**_

 _ **Goodbye Alan Rickman, you will be missed, you will be remembered but most of all you many roles will be watched for years to come.**_

 _ **Chapter eight**_

 _ **The Biggest Git a brother could have**_

 ** _..._**

* * *

 **...**

It was late at night in the Ministry of Magic as Amelia Bones paced the length of her office. As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had the luxury of actually having a rather grand office. It wasn't that she had luxurious taste it was the simple fact that as the Head of Law Enforcement she met with other magical law enforcement agencies around the world and her office was one of the most secure location.

Just like the Minister's office, hers was swept for listening charms or devices and anything else that was not meant to be there. She even took a leaf out of Moody's book and did her own sweep before doing anything important.

Currently extra measures had been taken on top of her normal ones. If Dumbledore was to be trusted, and her gut told her he was, then He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned from the dead and would be raging war against them as soon as he had gathered enough followers. She had placed numerous wards around her office to help defend against unwanted visitors and listeners.

Now if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was indeed back, that meant he would try to break out his most valued followers from Azkaban. She needed to stop that breakout from happening even with the little budget she had to work with. The safety of the people was imperative. Perhaps she could persuade Fudge that extra security around Azkaban would be a positive thing, show the public that they were taking Sirius Black's escape seriously.

Sirius Black - that was a long book of sordid tails she did not want to go into yet knew she would have no choice. No trial, she had searched, she had found nothing and that was worrisome in its own right. If Sirius Black had not received a trial then who else had been placed within the walls of Azkaban without one.

She would need to gather as much evidence as she could and bring it to the attention of the Wizengamot. It would be the only way to actually do something on this situation. Yet the Wizengamot only met once a month and she would need time to gather evidence. Fudge could not know about any of what she was doing nor on the subject, which would mean she could only trust a select few of her Aurors. Something she hated to admit considering they were meant to be her Aurors and under her command.

The first thing she would get started on would be Azkaban. She would need to give proposed ideas to Fudge for building up their forces and if he thought that it would give a good public image the more it seemed he would go for it.

Pressing a button on her desk, she summoned her secretary. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the young witch to enter her office with a smile on her face.

"Tasha, I need you to schedule a meeting with the Minister of Magic, inform him that it is about security measures for Azkaban," She ordered earning a nod from the young witch. "I would like this meeting to be early tomorrow if that is to his satisfaction."

"Of course Madam Bones, is there anything else that you would like me to do?"

"No, nothing else thank you, Tasha, after you schedule the meeting you may go home."

…

For the first time in a long while, Ron was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was most out of the fact that he was waiting for Hermione to gather her things so that they could head to their newly dubbed favorite spot in the school then anything yet it had the effect on the common room.

People chose to stay away from him, only those who believed him dared to approach him. Just then though an owl flew into the common room and landed on the table before him. Instantly Ron recognized the owl as Hermes, Percy's owl.

It was odd to receive a letter from Percy, he had never sent one before and especially now considering how his brother had forsaken their family for the Ministry. Taking the letter, the owl swiftly flew away and Ron looked down at it.

"You ready to go?" Hermione asked as she finally arrived down from the girl's dorm.

"Sure," he grunted before shoving the letter into his bag.

Rising the duo left the common room together and headed towards the seventh floor, left corridor. It took a few minute but as they arrived at their location, the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet. Walking past the tapestry three times, it wasn't long before a door magically appeared on the opposite wall.

Walking through it, they swiftly entered their favorite hideaway in Hogwarts. The Room of Requirement was a wonderful place, it could turn into anything one needed or asked for. In this instance, they had requested their usual place, a place to hide away from the rest of the student population and to relax or do research.

The result was a large common room, with comfortable leather sofas and a large fireplace. The walls were covered in bookshelves that went up for three stories. To access them all, there were several rolling latter. Everything was done in the warm tones of Gryffindor common room and was perfect.

"What did you shove into your bag before we left the common room?" Hermione questioned eyes shining with curiosity as they placed their bags down.

"Percy chose to write me a letter," Ron remarked sarcastically earning a raised eyebrow from his friend.

Taking said the letter from his bag, he looked at it with a small bit of disdain. For some reason, he felt like he wouldn't like the contents of the letter.

"Well, let us see what my git of an older brother wants now," he grunted before tearing the seal and pulling the parchment out.

Unfolding it he swiftly began to read and no sooner did he do so did his frown double.

 _ **Dear Ron,**_

 _ **I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister for Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect.**_

 _ **I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the "Fred and George" route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility.**_

 _ **But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully, you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions.**_

"What the bloody hell does that mean, awkward questions?" He snapped out yet Hermione had no answer for his question so he continued on.

 _ **From something the Ministry let slip when telling me you are now a Prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Téaleon Potter, even if she is not at Hogwarts this year, a fact that will be to your advantage. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that girl. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this – no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favorite – but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge of Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different – and probably more accurate – view of Potter's behavior. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing – and see if you can spot yours truly!**_

 _ **Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school too. The fact that she did not return to Hogwarts this year should be proof enough.**_

 _ **It maybe be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter – I know that he can be unbalanced and for all I know violent – but if you have any worries about this or have spotted anything else in Potter's behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a really delightful woman, who I know will be only too happy to advise you.**_

 _ **This leaves me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that so far Professor Umbridge is encountering very little cooperation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week – again, see the Prophet tomorrow!). I shall say only this – a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years!**_

 _ **I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore (if you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders.) I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people – the Minister really could not be more gracious to me – and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions either. I sincerely hope that in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.**_

 _ **Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Téaleon Potter, and congratulations again on becoming Prefect.**_

 _ **Your brother,**_

 _ **Percy**_

Rage, Ron had never felt such rage before yet reading his brother's letter had erupted a volcano inside of him and there was no way he could rein in his temper. Furiously ripping the letter apart he hurriedly through its contents into the fire and watched with satisfaction as it burned.

"Percy is the biggest prat!" He snarled. "How could he say such things about Téa! She was nothing but nice to him and he goes and says she's violent and unstable! Ha, the one that's unstable is that sorry excuse for a Weasley!"

"I'll show him how much I take his letter seriously; I'm going to write one of my own. No, even better I'm going to send him a bloody Howler. I don't bloody well care who hears it!" He shouted making Hermione pale.

"Ron…" "NO! He has no right writing what he did. I… he is no brother of mine, and it's going to take much more than a single apology from him to get back into my books!" Ron shot out before storming to his bag. Pulling some parchment out he swiftly began writing a letter and it wasn't long before finished. Thankfully, he did have one howler envelope on him. It had been something he had bought during his last trip to Hogsmeade.

"Ron what if he gets it at work," Hermione urged yet Ron shook his head.

"Then that will be brilliant, the more people know that he would rather betray his family the better. I don't bloody well care anymore Hermione; he deserves this more than anything." He grunted before placing the sealed envelope into his bag. "I'll send it the next time Pig is nearby,"

Thinking that perhaps a bit of time would help clear Ron's head Hermione gave a nod before rising to her feet.

"I think I am going to go search the books. Perhaps there is a book here that could help us with Téa's situation." Hermione remarked and after Ron gave a nod of confirmation, she headed towards the nearest ladder.

…

The next day, Percy Weasley made his way purposely towards his workplace. He had quite a busy day ahead of him, after all, he did hold a very important job in the Ministry.

Arriving at his desk, he swiftly took his seat before setting his affairs in order. Just as he was about to begin with his paperwork the fluttering sound of wings caught his attention making him look up to find an owl flying towards him, a very tiny owl to be sure yet it was odd considering Ministry officials stopped using owls long ago.

As the little owl dropped the letter upon his desk, it hurriedly flew away leaving Percy to gaze down and find, to his horror, a smoking red envelope sitting upon his desk. A howler, somebody had sent him a howler at work.

Before he could snap out of his shock and open the letter it did so itself and within seconds, the angry shouting voice of his youngest brother filled the room making Percy pale.

 **Percy** Weasley **you are the biggest prat to ever be born!**

 **How dare you! Téaleon Potter is one of my best friends and I will never, ever betray my best friend! You bloody well don't know me if you even think that I would do so! She was nothing but nice to you whenever she saw you and you go and speak shit about her! You bloody coward! You can't even do it to her face instead you write it in a letter addressed to me!**

 **As for your 'advice' shove it! If working for the Ministry of Magic means that I become like you I think I'll follow more in Charlie and Bill's footsteps and seek future employment outside of the Ministry!**

 **I have to say I am more than ashamed to call you my brother. I would think that my older brothers had more common sense and actually think for themselves but clearly you are beyond thinking for yourself. You blindly follow those with more power! Well, guess what 'brother' I trust in Téa! I believe that VOLDEMORT has returned!**

 **From now on, any letters from you will be shoved into the fire unopened, you are no brother to me until the day you actually pull your head out of your ass and realize what a huge** git **you've come to be! You'll have to do more than** apologies **to get me back as a brother Percy!**

With that, the letter ripped itself into pieces before bursting into flames leaving Percy open mouthed and blushing the famous Weasley red in embarrassment.

Just then a soft cough had him looking up to find Amelia Bones standing only feet from his desk, a single eyebrow arched as she gazed at him making his blush grow hotter.

"Ma… Madam Bones… I… I apologise…" "I am here for a meeting with the Minister, I am sure you have been informed of this meeting," She remarked.

"Of… of course ma'am, I shall inform the Minister that you have arrived." He hurried to announce before scrambling to his feet and hurrying away leaving Amelia standing on her own by his desk.

It was only moments later that he returned, stuttering that the Minister was ready to see her. With a nod, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement glided through the grand double doors into the opulent office.

Where hers was luxurious in the simplest of ways, the Minister's office was opulent to the extreme. Rich carpets and textures covered the surface, a large heavy wooden desk sat before a set of grand windows, there was even a large crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

"Amelia! To what do I owe this meeting!" Cornelius Fudge greeted pulling her attention from the office to the man sitting behind the desk.

"Minister, I wished to speak to you on the subject of Azkaban and its – current – state of defence," Amelia announced wanting to get straight to the point. "With Sirius Black's escape a few years ago almost nothing has been done to build up the defence of the prison or to try and stop any other breakouts. I have a few suggestions and I can honestly say that the public would find it reassuring that the Ministry would work to protect its public by limiting the chances of more breakouts."

This made Fudge straighten at once and Amelia knew she had him on the line.

"The public you say," He urged.

"They would feel safer knowing that the Ministry was working to protect them and to try and find any defect in the protections around Azkaban." Amelia continued earning a nod from the man before she took a seat.

"What do you suggest Amelia," He urged on.

"The first thing I would recommend would be using the Goblins and their knowledge of wards to upgrade the ones around Azkaban. Now yes this would cost some money but Cornelius some would say that it is necessary. People would feel safer, wouldn't you say. You would be showing a good standing of the Ministry." She explained earning a nod of agreement from the man.

"I agree Amelia, it would be a good idea to upgrade the wards around Azkaban, Merlin knows when the last time those were updated. I suppose we could pull some funds for the wards. You would speak with the Goblins I hope?" He questioned making Amelia smile.

"Of course, I could schedule a meeting for today and have them working on the wards by weeks end," Amelia announced.

"Good what other recommendations to you have,"

"A good portion of our Aurors have a hard time performing the Patronus Charm, I wish to have a group of Aurors specifically taught the spell until they are able to perform it even under the direst of situations. In addition, said group would be placed on guard duty around Azkaban on top of the other guards. During their time there, they would also help teach the other guards the Patronus charm." Amelia suggested, this time, Fudge seemed a bit hesitant yet he seem to see the merit in the suggestion.

"How many would you be considering for this training?"

"A group of seven, at the very least, perhaps ten," She answered, hoping the man would actually agree.

If he did it would mean she would be able to put a firmer step into Azkaban's defenses and hopefully place a few extra, unknown, measures into the mix.

"Very well Amelia, that would be prudent, I will allow you to pick the team," he agreed before resting back against his chair. "Perhaps we could finally learn how Black escaped Azkaban all those years ago."

"Perhaps, well if you will excuse me, Minister, I have a meeting to arrange with Gringotts concerning the wards of Azkaban."

With that, she gave the man a nod before rising and leaving the office gleeful that she had actually done some good.


	9. Chapter nine

**_Chapter nine_ **

**_An odd sort of messenger_**

 **…**

* * *

 **…**

Gazing around her, Téa felt her heart drop. She knew where she was, Hogwarts. Yet the hallway she was in was dark, clearly past curfew if the slumbering portraits were to be believed.

"Hello," came an eerie voice, which made her spin to find a young girl looking at her. The same girl from the feast, the blonde Ravenclaw, who she didn't know the name of.

"You… you can see me?" She asked cautiously which earned her a soft smile from the young blonde.

"I can, you are Téaleon Potter, Girl-Who-Lived, and Gryffindor Seeker although that title no longer applies considering Ginny Weasley is the new Seeker for Gryffindor," The young girl remarked making Téa blink taking in both the fact that the girl knew her and the news she had just heard.

"Yes I am, you are -" She finally began to speak yet came upon a problem, she didn't know the girls name.

"Luna Lovegood," The girl answered before cocking her head to the side. "Your soul is not in this world anymore is it? Waterpots are following you around,"

This made Téa stop short, of course, the one person that just had to be able to see her, also happened to be crazy. Perfection, she just had to be that lucky. Still she would have to do.

"I… No," Téa finally remarked, not really knowing how to answer that sort of thing. "No it's not, but I'm trying to get it back, its hard but I'm getting there. Luna – you're the only one that can see me, but listen to me, please. I need your help. I… I will do anything if you can help me. I need to tell somebody that I'm alright, that I'm fighting to get back to my body. They have to know,"

"Who do you wish to tell?" Luna asked curiously and for a moment Téa thought about telling Dumbledore yet she froze.

Dumbledore was a good option yes but who was to say he would believe Luna. He could just simply think Luna is doing it for attention or for a joke; he has no way of knowing if Luna was speaking the truth. That meant she needed Luna to tell somebody along with a small message so that they knew that it was real. There were only two people she could think about, that fit that completely she just hating putting more stress on their shoulders as it was.

"Ron and Hermione, you know who they are right? Tell them that I am fighting to get back to my body, that it is possible. If they know about me being Kissed, then they need to know that there is a way to get back to my body. I have to pass through trials. I need to get through them to get my soul back to my body. I have already passed two of them." She announced earning a nod from the young blond. "You'll need to give them proof, they'll believe you if you tell them one phrase okay, The Daughter of Prongs, goddaughter to Padfoot and niece to Moony solemnly swears that she is up to no good."

"You're fading…" Luna remarked and it was true, Téa could feel herself being pulled away.

"Tell them, Luna, please they need to know and tell… tell them that they are the best friends a girl could have! And tell Ginny that I'm happy she's Seeker and she can use my firebolt!" She urged before finally disappearing completely.

Waking with a start, Téa felt her heart race within her chest. Looking around her, she found herself back in the room in complete silence. Racking her hand through her hair, she took a deep breath before resting back on the bed.

Had she made the right choice? What if Ron and Hermione didn't know she was kissed? They would already be under immense stress with Voldemort back and this being their O.W.L year after all. Would she be placing, even more, stress upon their shoulders?

Just then though her thoughts were scattered as the lights began to light within the room. It was time to get up, get dressed and continue on with this journey.

Pushing the blankets aside, she shivered as the cold air hit her body. Swiftly bringing the sheet she had used last night she wrapped it around her before looking around for her clothes. Thankfully, she spotted it, having been placed, nice and folded, upon the writing desk. Hurrying over she swiftly changed into it, before the smell of food wafted over her. Stomach grumbling she turned to find a small table by the bed, covered in all sorts of food.

Mouth already salivating she swiftly walked over and settled down for breakfast. It wasn't long though before she gained a companion, Attor – having smelled the food – had woken from her own slumber.

"It smells very appetizing Mistress," hissed the snake making Téa smile before she noticed that there had even been food provided for the serpent.

"Yours is over there, why don't you eat too. We're going to need our strength if we are to continue together." She remarked before digging into her own plate of food.

When they both finished their meals Téa pulled allowed Attor to slither back onto her shoulders before standing. Placing her cloak into place, she walked towards the door and with one look to Attor who gave a nod she opened it and walked through it.

The moment she walked through the door it disappeared and to her amusement, Téa found herself into a room that resembled her old third-year DADA classroom. It was as though she was back at Hogwarts. Yet the man standing at the front of the class was not Remus Lupin.

The man was tall, standing at about 6'5" with broad shoulders and a mane of wild long black hair. His eyes were the color of honey while he wore a set of deep blue robes trimmed in gold. Téa could even feel an aura around him, a hidden power that rippled under his muscled body. For all purposes of the words, he was roguishly handsome and terrifying as well.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here," he grunted, honey eyes narrowing as they focused on her. "a new soul, and you passed through the maze. How interesting,"

"You know about – this journey?" She asked curiously rather unsure about this person. She knew he was supposed to be one of her teachers, she just didn't know who those teachers were.

"I do, I agreed to teach any who passed through the maze." The man remarked before motioning her forward.

Walking towards him, she stopped when he gave her a stop motion yet that didn't mean her nerve system stopped. Every muscle in her body was on edge at the moment, not knowing who this person was and just feeling his power was making her nerves twitch with worry.

Slowly the man walked around her, taking note of Attor on her shoulder and her appearance before coming to a stop in front of her.

"Your name," he stated not even bothering to make it a question.

"Téa," she answered yet the man didn't seem to deem it satisfactory as he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his muscled chest. Still he did not speak a word. "Téaleon, my name is Téaleon."

"And what pray tell is your last name?" He finally questioned.

"Potter," she gritted out, "Téaleon Lily Potter, everybody calls me Téa."

For a moment, the man simply stared at her, until finally he stepped back.

"How did you come to be here? We're you so foolish to go near a Dementor…" "Sorry, foolish, I would rather take a bath in a sewer than go near a Dementor!" Téa exclaimed her anger now overpowering her sense of fear. "I hate those things! Every time they show their face they bring back my worst memories! No, I didn't do this by choice mister; I chose to save my friends life by sending my patronus with him while I tried to lead the Dementors away! Plus what do you bloody well care!"

"I care because I do not want to be teaching an idiot, not to mention I am Thanatos Potter and you - little imp - are my descendant." The man, Thanatos answered making Téa freeze.

No, there was no possible way she was related to this – this guy! Yet suddenly she was seeing the resemblance, Potter family traits and the resemblance between this man and her father.

They both had the same chins, the famous Potter hair, although growing it out seemed to do wonders for it. They had the same nose even.

"Indeed, you seem surprised but sheerly your parents told you such information. I am rather famous in our family. I was the Minister of Magic and once lead the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." He remarked making her blink up at him.

"Uh… that would explain where you get the pompous attitude from, Minister's always seem to have that sort of pompous air about them," she remarked before stepping back. "As for my parents teaching me something, they never got the chance. They were both killed by a Dark Lord when I was a year old. Seeing, as there were no other Potters around to take me in I went to my second closest relative, my mother's sister. She and her husband hate magic."

"You were taught nothing? Positively ridiculous, you are a Potter, you hold immense wealth and power in your hands and yet you were taught nothing." Thanatos exclaimed clearly not happy with this little tidbit of information.

"Mistress, is this man bothering you, shall I bite him?" Attor suggested making Téa smile down at the snake.

"That won't help us Attor, he's my "Teacher" for now, I guess he recognized the ring upon my finger." She hissed back while sending a side-glance to her right-hand ring finger where a simple ring was.

The Potter Heir ring, she had received it when she went to Gringotts to form a will. She had also learned quite a bit from her trip. The ring was simple considering it was only an heir ring. It was gold and held the family crest upon its surface, considering it was also used as a signet ring. The Potter family crest was rather mysterious in its own right. Everybody always seemed to associate griffins with the Potter family but its crest had always been that of a dragon head.

"Parseltongue," Thanatos whispered catching her attention once more. "An interesting talent to possess for a Potter,"

"I was given the talent by accident," she remarked yet did not go further, she didn't exactly want to tell the man every detail.

"Well then, it seems I have a challenge before me. I will be teaching you about our family history and family magic's, also, that Potters have always had a natural talent for Transfiguration. Sit down; we have quite a bit to do and not a lot of time to do so." He ordered making her blink before she slowly did as told.

Swiftly the man pulled the chair from behind his desk and placed it before her own and took a seat. As he gazed into her eyes he seemed to calculate her before giving a nod.

" The Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter has held many names." He began catching Téa's attention immediately. "Through hardship, we have been forced to change our names. We were once known as the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell. For centuries, we went by that name and before that we were known by another name. This was long, long ago and the only reason we know of this is because of our most treasured heirlooms, our Grimoire."

Here Thanatos stopped speaking, and Téa took in the information. Still she was curious, who had they been before they had been the Peverells and why had they changed their names twice.

"You see Téaleon, we were once considered a dark family, as the Peverells we were considered a Grey family and finally the Potters have been considered a Light family. The only reason we were known as a Dark Family is because people began to choose what magic's were dark."

"What sort of magic are we talking about?" She questioned curiously.

"We might have a talent in Transfiguration yet we also have always had an affiliation for Necromancy, Blood Magic, and Ritual Magic," Thanatos answered making Téa still.

Blood magic, she knew that type of magic, it was what protected her when she was younger and still did to a certain extent. Ritual magic, she had been used in one and didn't like it one bit, yet there were perhaps beneficial rituals. She did not know much about them so she could not truly make an opinion on them. Yet Necromancy, Necromancy was the act of summoning the dead.

"What was our name?" She asked feeling slightly unsure.

"We were once known as the Ancient and Honorable House of Le Fay," Thanatos announced proudly.

…

It was a seemingly quiet day at Hogwarts, with it being Saturday most students chose to either go outside or stay in their common rooms. At that moment, Hermione was making her way to the Room of Requirements. Ron was already waiting for her there but she was running late because of Prefect duties.

Just as she was turning a corner, she had to come to a stop as another student was walking the same root. Hermione recognized the girl almost at once. Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw student in the same year at Ginny, if she wasn't mistaken she was also Ginny's friend. The thing was, Luna Lovegood had the reputation of being well, loonie.

"You are Hermione Granger," Luna announced startling Hermione considering the young Ravenclaw had never spoken to her before.

"Yes I am, is there something I can do for you, Luna?" She asked hoping that there was nothing and she could simply continue on her way to meet Ron.

"Actually yes there is, I need to speak with you and Ronald Weasley. Could it be possible to arrange a meeting?" She asked startling Hermione.

"Uh – sure, I'm on my way to meet Ron now, why don't you come with me, is this something of importance?" She finally asked, while leading the girl towards Ron and her's meeting place.

"I've been told it is important yes," Was all Luna answered before going silent leaving Hermione to ponder what could be so important.

Arriving at the room of Requirements, she spotted Ron leaning against a wall. When he noticed them approaching she could see the frown upon his face. He was clearly confused as to why she was with a Ravenclaw.

"Ron, this is Luna Lovegood, she needs to speak to the both of us about something important," She announced earning a sigh from her friend.

"Alright, what did you need to tell us?" He grunted not truly in the mood to help anybody today.

"The Daughter of Prongs, goddaughter to Padfoot and niece to Moony solemnly swears that she is up to no good," Luna announced dreamily taking both Ron and Hermione by shock.

It took them multiple minutes to get over it and before the girl could say anything else they shushed her and Ron passed back and force.

As the door to the Room of Requirement appeared they hurried the girl inside and towards a chair.

"Nobody knows that phrase, who told you?" Ron growled out, anger racing through him at the thought of somebody actually playing a trick on them.

"Téaleon Potter asked me to tell you that," Luna answered calmly, not at all bothered by the tone of voice the large Gryffindor was using.

"That isn't possible," Hermione whispered while shaking her head yet Luna only smiled.

"She asked me to deliver a message because I am the only one that can see her when she appears in this world." Luna voiced confusing the two even more than they already were.

"What do you mean when she appears int his world… Téa… she's."

"She told me to tell you that she's fighting to get back to her body, that it was possible. She's been Kissed, I suppose that means by a Dementor. She says there is a way to get back to her body, a series of trials." Luna continued rather unbothered by how surprised the two seemed to be.

"Okay, what one minute!" Hermione exclaimed now just understanding what Luna was saying. "You're telling us that you can see Téa? Like right now?"

"Oh no, not at this moment, I have only seen her twice, I suspect the Nargles stole her soul away from where she is and bring her here. I do not understand why, though." Luna answered simply, and for a moment, Ron and Hermione simply stared at each other before shaking their heads.

"When was the other time you saw her?" Ron asked.

"During the sorting feast," Luna answered simply before sitting back in her chair.

"Please… um wait here," Hermione urged before pulling Ron away from the seating area.

"How are we supposed to believe her? She's talking about Nargles, those things they don't exist." She hissed.

"Hermione she knows about Téa being Kissed. Only those in the Order know about that and even then it's a select few. Plus she told us the phrase. We always said that that would be Téa's phrase if we ever needed to pass along a message through somebody else. I… believe her. I know it might seem weird but I believe her." Ron grunted before looking towards the blonde Ravenclaw. "She might be loopy but I really do believe she's telling us the truth and if she is that means there is a way to get back to your body after you've been Kissed by a Dementor."

"A series of task's, I've never heard of any of this, but maybe… maybe it could give us something." Hermione whispered.

After a few more moments they returned to Luna and gave her their attention.

"Did she want to tell us anything else?" Hermione asked still trying to digest the information they were gaining.

"Only that she is happy that Ginny was named Seeker and that she could use her Firebolt if she so wished," Luna answered making Ron snort while Hermione laughed softly. "You have a very interesting friend,"

"She might be interesting but she's also filled with surprises. Thank you for telling us this news, could we ask you to just keep it to yourself, please. Nobody is supposed to know that she's been kissed and it would be better if they didn't."

After a few minutes, the girl left the room leaving Hermione and Ron with slightly lighter hearts. Their friend was fighting to get back to them.

"We have to tell Sirius, in person, though, we can't tell him over a letter," Ron remarked yet Hermione shook her head.

"Its dangerous Ron, we can't ask him to come to Hogsmeade." Hermione argued yet Ron gave a frown.

"We can ask Remus to come to Hogsmeade during our next visit, we can tell him but Sirius needs to know that Téa is fighting to get back to us. It might just snap him out of his depression. It sure has done us some good." He countered before pulling parchment from his bag. "We should send him a letter with the request."

"Make it sound like a student talking with an old Teacher. Just in the off chance, Umbridge is scanning the mail." Hermione added before squealing and hugging her friend making him look down at her in surprise at her sudden change of attitude.

"What the bloody hell was that for?"

"Oh, I'm just so happy. We can get her back Ron! We can get her back, all she has to do is get through those challenges and I know Téa can get through anything if it means coming back to us."


	10. Chapter ten

_**Chapter ten**_

 _ **In preparation for a waltz**_

…

* * *

…

Gringotts Wizarding Bank, owned and operated by goblins. If Amelia was current the bank was created by a goblin called Gringott in 1474. It is considered one of the safest locations in the Wizarding world with the exception of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its motto was simple, Fortius Quo Fidellius, Strength through Loyalty. It also had a formidable reputation of only having one break-in since its creation.

Gringotts is an imposing building in its own right, its entrance hall showed its wealth and prestige, with marble all over the place, long counters stretching along its length with doors leading off to the vault passageways with large crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Yes, Gringotts was an impressive sight and filled with many, many secrets. It was also heavily guarded by armed Goblins which stood on alert as she entered its halls in official robes of the Bones family.

This consisted of elegant robes did in the Bones family primary color, which was an elegant leaf green robes trimmed gold. The crest of the regency of the Bones family was upon it and under those robes, she wore a pair of black dress pants and a slightly darker green blouse. She was dressed to represent the Bones family even if she was here in official Ministry of Magic business. On her right was the only other Auror with her, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Like her, he was dressed in robes to show his stature as the Head of the Shackebolt family. His robes were more African-based then her own, flowing freely. It was primarily in the dark blues and purples yet had accents of gold within it.

Appearance was everything to the Goblins, appearance, and gold, gold being the most important. Still they respected a person who showed them respect and by downing appropriate attire in the meeting, they were showing that they respected the goblins enough to take this meeting very seriously.

Just as they entered the hall two armed goblins approached, and stood at the ready before one goblin began to speak.

"Madam Bones, Auror Shacklebolt welcome to Gringotts, we have been requested to lead you to Lord Grimtooth," He announced catching the attention from some onlookers.

"Thank you, please lead the way." Amelia agreed and thankfully without further delay they were lead passed the entrance hall of the bank and into its deeper halls.

It took them a few minutes to reach their destination but as they arrived, they spotted a set of very tall yet thin double doors that looked to be made of gold. On either side of the door were two goblin guards. Without even missing a beat, the doors opened and they were lead inside. With two matching bows the goblins turned and left the room leaving them alone with the Head of Gringotts Lord Grimtooth.

"Amelia Bones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, welcome to Gringotts," the aged goblin greeted while rising to his feet.

Lord Grimtooth was an aged goblin, yet he was one of the most respectable goblins you could meet with. To fix the wards around Azkaban as much as they wished, they needed to form a contract with Gringotts. To do such, they needed to speak with Lord Grimtooth.

"Thank you Lord Grimtooth, for agreeing to meet with us." Amelia greeted swiftly earning a nod from the goblin before he motioned for them to sit down.

"You wished to form a contract with Gringotts regarding the wards of Azkaban," Lord Grimtooth swiftly began not one for waiting. "I see no reason for Gringotts to deny such a request the simple question would be funding. I have come to understand that the Ministry has reduced your budget once more."

This made Amelia cringe internally. Oh yes, it was a well-known fact that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's budget had gone down once more. It continued to go down every year. Thankfully, though her budget would not be affected by this deal.

"The Minister had allocated a certain amount to pay for your services, Lord Grimtooth." Kingsley voiced, smoothly. "We hope you would accept this as adequate payment."

Smoothly passing over an official document Lord Grimtooth gazed at it with a critical eye before giving a nod.

"This shall be acceptable, and the terms stated are as well. When do you wish for this to be handled?" He questioned.

"We were hoping that you would be willing to do so as soon as possible. We have reasons to believe that certain individuals might wish to breaks others out of Azkaban." Amelia announced showing that she did indeed believe Dumbledore about Voldemort's return.

For a moment, Lord Grimtooth gazed upon them before giving a nod and pulling a document out of his desk.

"I see that you are a reasonable woman Madam Bones, so I entrust this into your possessions. In addition, a feasible donation has been done to fix the wards of Azkaban, as long as the Ministry added in this upgrade. This will allow us to add certain other wards to the group you have selected." Lord Grimtooth announced earning a shared look between both the Head of Law Enforcement and her auror. "To answer your unasked questioned, this individual is the sole heiress to the Potter family and trusted us in doing a few – adjustments to certain investigates and other donations. This is not the only donation she has performed, and it certainly won't be the last. We are aware of her state of – mind for lack of better words – but understand that not everything is permanent but death. Even then it is misleading at times."

For a moment, Amelia did not understand what the goblin was speaking off. How could he be aware of Téaleon's state of soullessness? Moreover, how much more permanent could that be, nobody had ever returned from a Dementors kiss, at least, none that she knew.

"For now, simply understand that we will do what is necessary to stop Lord Voldemort from gaining any of his followers. The funds will aid in securing extra security measures for our warders as they work, not just from Dementors but also outside forces." Here Lord Grimtooth turned to Kingsley and gazed into his eyes swiftly taking the man's attention. "Take note that if any – extra defenses will be made available – Gringotts will be sure to take their defense and state that their services were welcomed."

After a few more items were discussed, Amelia Bones and Kingsley Shackelbolt were escorted from the bank. Once outside Kingsley turned to Amelia who gave her agreement, he was to inform Dumbledore of the situation and that if any aid could be given to the Goblins on a certain day then it would be well appreciated, especially those with the ability to perform to Patronus Charm.

…

"So these are runes that can be used in a basic shielding ward," Téa concluded earning a nod from the man.

"Some have placed the runes on their very persona so that the ward is bound to them, and will follow as they move. Understand that it will not stop very powerful spells. Now that we have some basic on runes and some blood magic, do you feel comfortable perhaps furthering your knowledge when you return to your body?" Thanatos questioned making Téa look up to stare into his hazel eyes.

"Yes, I think I would be." She agreed, earning a nod of acceptance from her ancestor. "Good we will move onto our specific type of Necromancy," He remarked before walking away from her desk.

"You see for as long as our family has existed we have had a link with the dead. Necromancy is a form of magic involving communication with the deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or by raising them bodily. Our method is different. We do not raise flesh and bone - we raise bone. Skeletal bodies bound to defend our line and to fight alongside us. Some of our ancestors could summon the famous hellhounds of hell to follow our orders but those were rare."

"To begin you must use blood, this is why we are so good with blood magic. You can only use one sort of dagger for necromancy summoning, a bone made from an animal that has killed. If poison is in it, the better but nobody uses a poisoned blade, as most are not immune." Thanatos remarked making Téa's eyes grow wide. "Actually, my father used to be immune to many poisons; he had once been poisoned by a very poisonous snake. He was then cured with phoenix tears; this made it is so he could not be poisoned by regular means.

"Wait – so if I was bitten by a Basilisk, and phoenix tears healed the wound I wound be immune to Basilisk Venom?" She asked curiously earning an odd look from her ancestor.

"There have been no recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain for at least 400 years," Thanatos started making Téa chuckle.

"That's what everybody thinks," She remarked while subconsciously moving to rub the thick bundle of scar tissue that was in the crook of her elbow.

For a moment, Thanatos simply stared at her arm, as though considering exactly what she was saying before he took a seat and turned his gaze to her emerald green eyes, not a color he had ever seen a Potter have considering they normally only had either hazel or brown eyes.

"Explain," he ordered simply and although she hesitated she finally gave a nod.

"I assume that you are familiar with the tale of the Chamber of Secrets." She began and after a nod, she continued. "During my second year the chamber was opened a second time, the first time it was opened it killed a student and that was fifty years before I even went to Hogwarts. The second time, the chamber was opened, it was by the same person yet it did not kill any student. It simply petrified and this is all by extreme convenience. Finally, a student was taken into the Chamber of Secrets and my friends and I knew more about the chamber then anybody. Sadly, before the student was taken into the chamber one of my friends was petrified. She held the secret of the creature within her grasp and finally completed our search. The monster of the Chamber was a Basilisk. It was, at least, fifty feet long and was, at least, a thousand years old considering Salazar Slytherin himself placed the snake inside the chamber."

"And how pray tell did you get close enough to the creature to be stabbed by it and survive?" Thanatos questioned making Téa sigh.

"I was fighting it, trying to protect Ginny. I had help of course – a phoenix – Fawkes was a friend he belongs to Dumbledore. Fawkes blinded the basilisk and I shoved a sword through the roof of its mouth. It had the side effect of having one of its fangs piercing my arm. I was saved by Fawkes who cried upon my wound." She completed.

"It seems, Téaleon that you have gotten into your fair share of adventures," Thanatos remarked smoothly before sitting back. "And yes that would do perfectly. The combination of Basilisk tears and Phoenix tears would build up your immune system. They would also give you an extreme amount of immunity against various venom's."

"Well, I guess death by poisoning is a bit far-fetched now," She joked lightly earning a lift of the lips from the man.

"If you could gain access to the body again, forming a dagger from the basilisk fang would be perfect, preferably one that is not tainted with your blood. Bring it to the Goblins, they will craft you a blade for a certain amount." Thanatos ordered and for a moment, Téa contemplated not doing it. She wasn't found of the idea of summoning the dead, little alone skeletal bodies to order around.

As though sensing her reserve Thanatos leaned against her desk and gazed into her eyes with a hard look.

"This is in your blood, you have the ability to help in a way others cannot. This ability is sanctioned by the Wizengamot and you cannot be arrested for using it as long as it is in the defense of one's self or those close to you."

With that, he pushed himself away and walked towards his desk.

"Now, I think it's time we try a bit of transfiguration. If you want to get passed my standards, there is one thing you will need to know." He began before turning to her and giving her a hard gaze. "You will learn Human Transfiguration, one of the most dangerous and difficult forms of Transfiguration and you will learn it wandlessly. This will be an incredible advantage for you."

…

It was a rather beautiful day for a Hogsmeade visit as students hurrying from the castle and hurried to the small magical village. The third years were rather excited to be going while some of the older students were just glad to get away from a certain Professor.

Entering the Three Broomsticks, Hermione looked around for any signs of her old professor, Remus Lupin. Just then they were approached by Madam Rosmerta who flashed them a smile.

"You two the ones to see Remus I gather," she stated plainly startling them.

"Yes, is he here yet?" Ron asked hoping their meeting wouldn't have been canceled because of Order business.

"Yes, upstairs top floor, only room there. He's waiting for you, already has Butterbeer up there. Oh and mind yeah, he has a dog with him." She warned before leaving.

Hurrying up the steps, it didn't take the duo long to find the room they were looking for. As soon as they entered the spotted Remus sitting in a comfortable chair and at his feet was a shaggy black dog they all recognized, even if he seemed very gloomy.

"Hello you two, come in and shut the door, I already placed some wards around the place to keep people from listening in and I checked for others as well. We're safe here from prying eyes. That's why Padfoot's here." Remus greeted before motioning to two of the other chairs present.

As soon as they shut the door, the dog turned from canine to human, revealing a tall rather pale and thin man with long dark brown hair and gray eyes.

"You have something about Téa," he stated almost instantly not even bothering to make it a question.

"We do, Remus you remember Luna Lovegood?" Hermione asked startling the old Professor.

"A year bellow you both, Ravenclaw, a little peculiar." He recounted earning a snort from Ron yet no other comment was thrown out.

"She approached us the other day, she had evidence you see, she said Daughter of Prongs, Goddaughter of Padfoot and Niece of Moony. The only other person who ever said this was Téa." Hermione continued making both men look at each other before their focus went once more to the duo.

"Luna is the only person who could see Téa's spirit," Ron shot out knowing it be best to just get to the point. "She doesn't appear all the time but when she does, it's when she's asleep wherever she is. Luna is the only one who can see her and talk to her. Téa asked Luna to give us a message."

"The Dementors Kiss isn't as simple as people assume. It's actually very complicated. I found a book that could help us understand it a bit more but its old," Hermione swiftly continued before producing a small leather bound book. As she handed it to Remus, she continued. "It's said that the Dementors Kiss leads to a set of challenges. If one passed through them then they can regain their soul. Téa was able to communicate with Luna informing her that she had passed through two of the challenges and was now moving on to other challenges."

"The book says that the challenges can change from person to person with the exception of the first challenge. The First challenge is a maze that puts the person against their worst fears. After that nothing, much is known about the task's. Its author clearly didn't write anything further on the subject."

"That's because he was a slave," Remus murmured before showing them a something that made Hermione pale. "This book originates from Africa, I wasn't aware Africa even held Dementors. He was taken as a prisoner and sold as a slave before he could complete his memoir. Still this gives us some sort of hint that perhaps this is not permanent. Yet it also reveals we could do little for Téa in a sense of aid."

"Actually keeping her body in good shape would help tremendously. We can't have her muscles turning to mush. We'd have to keep her healthy, losing weight wouldn't be an option. That would land on the two of you considering you're the ones looking after her." Hermione answered earning a nod from Sirius even as he looked at the book in his friend's hand.

"Have you both informed Dumbledore of this new development?"

"No, we wanted to tell you both first, especially you Sirius," Ron answered earning a grateful smile from the escaped convict.

"Thank you both for this information and we also come bearing – gifts," Sirius announced before pulling out some books and handing them out.

"Dolores Umbridge is not a woman I would want teaching Defense against the Dark Arts." Remus continued, "I remember her from when we went to school. She was a few years bellow us but she was a piece of work even then. She wasn't good in Defense, actually, she didn't even pass her O.W.L's in the subject. I don't know how Fudge got away with appointing her as a Professor for Defense. Still we thought you could use these books."

"The first is a copy of the book we had had to buy in the fifth year and it is a brilliant book for Defense against the Dark Arts. The next is a more advanced but it won't hurt for you to get ahead. Wordless magic is hard but it's a valued skill." Sirius explained before grinning. "Then we got this book, this book is a hidden secret from most of the world, you can only get it in Knocturn Alley and even then it's not well known."

With that, he handed the book over to Hermione who took it with a bit of hesitation. Looking down at the cover, they found the title done in faded gold lettering. The easy way to succeeding your O.W.L's.

"This book is a genius and no Hermione it isn't cheating. It will test you and you will learn from it, when your O.W.L's come, you will find that you won't be as stressed as others." Remus assured them seeing how Hermione seemed to have been a little nervous about the book.

They spoke for a bit more time before Hermione and Ron chose to return to their trip. As they left the room, both Sirius and Remus stayed behind until finally Sirius slumped back into his chair.

"Do you think –" "They wouldn't lie about this Sirius and Luna Lovegood. She might be odd but she would not lie of this either.

"She… she's strong Remus but it's been centuries since somebody came back from the Dementors kiss, hell nobody knew about it for centuries. This is lost information Remus, meaning nobody who's been kissed has made it through alive." Sirius argued earning a sad nod from Remus.

"She's young, she's powerful, she's your goddaughter, and a Potter. She can make it through anything somebody sends her way Sirius, we just need to believe in that little bit of hope until – until we can't anymore." Remus advised his friend while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Believe in her Padfoot, that's what she needs most right now, belief."

…

It was a cold dreary night as a single boat finally docked at the Azkaban Port. As it was attached to the wood underground passage a group of curse breakers and goblins stepped out. This group consisted of some of Gringotts best warders yet it wasn't enough to be simply the best in warding they had to be cable fighters and curse breakers as well considering they would be trying to fix or completely reassemble the old wards surrounding Azkaban Prison.

Amongst those in the group was William Weasley, better known as Bill Weasley.

Just then the soft glow of wands appeared causing those in the harbor to look up, wands at a ready. Still they had nothing to worry about as those who were approaching were the extra auror team that would be aiding in the protection of the island. In that team was Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks.

"We should get started immediately." A goblin grunted.


	11. Chapter eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Not the best of teachers but, at least, madness runs in the family.**

…

* * *

…

Staring at her reflection felt very odd for Téaleon Potter. She didn't often like gazing at her reflection for long periods of time simply because she would ultimately see herself as nothing special. Yet now as she sat gazing in a mirror she couldn't help but notice rather notable changes.

Where she had always been rather thin and short for her age, the little bit of time she had been in this place had made it so she had grown a few inches and surprisingly enough gained a few pounds. She didn't exactly know how that was, considering she barely ate. Her skin was still pale which was normal considering there was no sun to tan in and even then she never tanned before. Then there was her hair, a mix of black and silver white it was odd yet not ugly. Time would only tell if her hair would turn complete silver white or if it would turn back to black.

"What are you doing admiring your complexion or concentrating on turning your eyes a different color, this is human transfiguration you're trying to learn, not what will look better." Thanatos snapped out clearly getting annoyed by the lack of change in her appearance. Clearly this man wasn't suited to be the best of teachers.

Blushing at his remark, Téa sent him a light glare before turning back to her reflection. This time ignoring the thoughts that ran through her she concentrated on one simple thing, turning her emerald green eyes into blue eyes.

"Do not allow the ogre to intimidate you, Mistress," Attor hissed as she slithered up her arm. "You are very capable of doing anything you place your mind to."

"Thanks, Attor," She chuckled completely positive that Thanatos would not like being compared to an ogre or being called one for that matter.

A huff that sounded in the back told her that her ancestor was quite annoyed by the fact that she was talking to the snake so with a quick roll of her eyes she chose to pull her full attention to the task at hand once again.

Gazing into her emerald eyes, she thought about them being blue, the same color as sapphires. Urging her magic to do as she told she felt the soft prickling as it traveled through her until it arrived at her eyes and slowly they began to fade from their normal vibrant emerald green eyes turning gray before they slowly began to turn blue. As she let the magic go she stared into the mirror, captivated by just how different her eyes made her look. She was so used to seeing herself with emerald green eyes that she was not used to seeing sapphire blue staring back at her.

"It seems wandless magic won't be a terrible struggle for you," Thanatos remarked while his face appeared beside her own, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. "Next you are to turn your hair from its current – situation to another color, your choice."

With that, he stepped away and once again. It was clear he wasn't big on compliments or given any indication that he was impressed with the task completed. Pushing back that small bit of annoyance towards the man, Téa concentrated on her hair. For some reason, it felt harder to change her hair color then it did to change her eye color. Perhaps it was because of the two-toned look or simply because there was more of it. Still after a few minutes, her hair was now a deep rich red instead of its two tones look.

It felt odd, having red hair. Especially the same red as her mother had. It made her realize that she could have been born with this shade of hair just as much as she could have been born with black hair. Would things have been different if she looked like her mother with her father's eyes rather than looking like her father with her mother's eyes?

Also, for how long could, she hold the look? Would it be possible to hold it for long periods of time or would a small lapse in concentration force her appearance back to normal? She would have to experiment with that at some point when she returned to her body. If she could hide her scar and change her appearance it would be a great disguise to use when facing the possibility of being captured by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, not to mention it would give her the chance to move undetected by others.

With little time to admire the differences or think further about the possibilities of the ability she was learning, she continued to follow orders. First, it was eyes, Thanatos would order her to change them from color to color, then came the hair doing the same with it. Finally, he moved on to skin color, body shape. When he seemed satisfied with her ability to change her appearance pretty much at will they finally moved on to the next step, animal transfiguration.

"For now, we will work on one specific animal understood. Take a dog, a black retriever; the first parts you are going to transform are going to be your hands. I want them formed into paws." Thanatos announced before sitting down.

He didn't seem to be adding any more information and so Téa was left to her own devices, trying to figure things out. This seemed to be the way her ancestor taught things, he didn't give much explanation, expecting her to learn through trial and error. That was all good when it wasn't her own body on the line but right now she was turning her body into a different thing. If things went wrong, they could truly go very wrong. Still she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to continue she had to master this step in her training. Thinking about dogs, she tried to concentrate on the paws.

Within moments, a picture of Padfoot filled her mind and she felt a pang of sadness fill her. She wondered what Sirius was up to. Did he miss her? After all the man only really knew her a tiny bit, they never really got the chance to talk overly much. Plus he was a wanted criminal, wanted for something he didn't do but still it wasn't like he could waltz up to a hospital to see her slowly dying body.

Shaking her head of that kind of thought she tried concentrating completely on Padfoot. She had seen him multiple times, she knew he was somewhat bigger than your average black lab but he was the only dog she could actually base herself on. Thinking about his paws, she remembered how they looked, slick and covered in fur, the under covered in dark gray pillows.

"Well done," came a soft voice that had her jumping in surprise. Looking towards Thanatos, she noticed that he was staring at her hands and so looked down. The moment she did she tried not to have a heart attack right there and then considering both her hands were no longer human but dog paws. Very large black furred dog paws. "Well let us see if you did it correctly,"

With that, Thanatos approached her and grabbed both paws. As he examined them, he gave soft hums of approval until finally he gave a nod.

"You do indeed seem to have a natural talent for wandless magic and Transfiguration," he grunted. "I can only assume you did rather well in your Transfiguration class with a wand."

"Actually, I'm not the best in Transfiguration at Hogwarts. I need a few turns to try and get the spell right." She answered making him frown.

"Perhaps it is simply that you find wandless magic to be simpler then wand magic. It is understandable some Potters are like that. My own daughter for instance was like that, she was completely hopeless with a wand yet once you removed the wand from her hands she could do wonders." He remarked, for the first time revealing something more personal about himself, which Téa swiftly picked up on.

"You had a daughter?" She questioned softly curious about her family.

"I did, she became a Healer until she died at the age of 36 defending St. Mungos. She could do wonders for individuals, including the only known case of healing the effects of the Cruciatus. Since her death, nobody has been able to replicate the results. They have not had the need to, or at least when I was still Minister. The results lay inside the Potter Family Vault."

"Wait – there is a cure for the Cruciatus?" She demanded mind swiftly turning to Neville and his parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom. Neville had never known his parents like her, but unlike her, his was cruller. He visited his parents, he spoke to them, but they never recognized him. If there was a way she could return them to normal, she would do it.

"Indeed, now enough chitter-chatter, turn your hands back to normal." He ordered and Téa had to bite her tongue. If that journal was in the Potter Family Vault she would get it when her soul returned to her body. It wasn't just her life at hand now, it was other peoples.

Turning her attention back to her paws she swiftly concentrated on changing them back to her normal hands. Thankfully, it wasn't very hard as moments later her hands returned to normal.

As they continued with the transformation, Thanatos would pipe in once and a while giving advice on transformations. Yet finally, it was time to see if she could complete the entire process and return to her normal body. Standing from the chair, she moved to the center of the room and with a nod from her ancestor shut her eyes.

Allowing her magic to spread through her body, she concentrated on the form of a large black dog. Slowly she felt her body comfort to her wishes. Before long as she opened her eyes and found her eyesight at a complete different level which meant she had to look up – even more so than normal – to gaze into her ancestors eyes.

"Very well done, very well done indeed. Now return to your human form." He ordered pride clear in his voice.

This time, it was a bit harder yet she continued on and in little time found herself standing in human form once more. Looking at herself she found no extra fur or doggy parts which meant she had successfully completed a human to animal transformation.

"Well done, well done." Thanatos applauded while giving her a few claps of the hand, which made her cheeks blush. "I strongly recommend you continue practicing those transformations, and before long you'll be ready to attempt the Animagus Transformation. You have done very well Téaleon Potter and I am proud to see that the Potter family will continue with one so intelligent leading it. Remember what I have taught you and you will do wonders. Do not fear what others may think of you. We are done here, you have learned what I needed to teach you and so it is time that you continue to your next teacher."

"Thanks – for teaching me, what I've learned will help me in the long run to protect my friends and family." She expressed earning a nod from the man.

"Keep your head high Téaleon Potter, Heiress of the Potter Family, perhaps with you, we will once more be known as our old name. Also a piece of advice, keep your mind open to thoughts. You don't know who will be teaching you in the next rounds."

With that, the classroom faded and Thanatos disappeared leaving Téa and Attor on their own. As they hovered in nothingness, Téa tried to keep the tears from forming. She might have just met Thanatos Potter and he might have been an arrogant self-centered git but – he had warmed up to her, and he was part of her history.

"I will do anything in my power to bring the Potters back to their previous esteem, I won't let anybody kick us down again and this time – this time we won't need to hide in fear." She void before everything around her turned solid and she found herself in a very different place.

Well, perhaps different place was an understatement. She recognized her surroundings; she knew exactly where she was. The Hogwarts infirmary, a place she so hated being yet every year she would end up there at least once. Yet this place was very different then the Hospital wing she was used to. This was looked even more old fashioned if that was possible. The beds were made of wood, with thick woolen quilts covering them. It was still clean but it held a warmer tone to it.

"Welcome dear to Hogwarts, when I was still alive and overseeing the hospital wing." Came a soft voice that had Téa spinning on her heal to find a king looking young woman gazing at her.

She was vastly different then Thanatos Potter. She had rich brown hair, which was pulled back into a complicated series of twists and turns. Her skin was golden and her eyes a shimmering blue that captivated. Unlike Thanatos, she wore an older fashioned dress, more depicting of renaissances times. They were done in tones of brown with accents of yellow thrown in.

Unlike Thanatos who exuded superiority this woman held an air of warmth and kindness to her, that made you relax instantly.

"May I ask your name child and the year you come from?" The woman questioned making Téa stare at her in confusion. Thanatos hadn't asked her that yet this woman was clearly older than he had been.

"My name is Téaleon – although everybody calls me Téa – Téaleon Potter. I come from the year 1995." She answered earning a rather shocked expression from the woman. "May I ask who you are?" She ventured.

"Well dear, I am Helga Hufflepuff one of the four Founders of Hogwarts."

…

It was a normal day at Hogwarts, well for the start at least. Students had all gathered in the Great Hall for Breakfast talking softly with each other. At Gryffindor Table, the Weasley's sat with Hermione and a few Gryffindors who stood by them, talking to each other until the mail began to arrive. The moment it did the unmistakable arrival of a very known snowy white owl caught the attention of all inside the Great Hall. Even the staff watched as the snowy white owl known as Hedwig flew towards Gryffindor table, a long box in her talons. As the owl landed on the Gryffindor table, the package was set before Ginny Weasley who gazed at both in complete shock.

Before anybody could say anything the owl flew over to the young red head and allowed her to take the letter from her beak before flying off, leaving the hall and its occupants behind.

Shakily looking down at the letter in her hands, Ginny took a deep breath before opening it.

 _ **Ginny,**_

 _ **I heard about you getting the Seeker position for Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Congratulations! You will do wonderful I know you will. I hope that this can come in useful. I'm lending it to you with hopes that it will serve you as it served me. I won't be needing it for now considering I'm not playing Quidditch but concentrating on other things.**_

 _ **Good luck on the field,**_

 _ **Téaleon Potter**_

Taking a deep breath and knowing that this wasn't written by Téa she looked up at Ron who gave her a nod while Hermione gave her a wink. Clearly they knew something that she didn't still if they were okay with this it meant it must have been alright. She would need to speak to them about it later though but for now, she would see what the hell had been sent to her by the Order.

Pulling the package towards her she undid the rope before opening the box. The moment she did she slammed the lid shut and her eyes flew back to her brothers who gave her a grin.

"You have to be kidding me," she whispered.

"Ginny she wants this, and we'll explain later how we know that but for now just go with the flow." Ron told her swiftly noticing the approaching pink toad.

Nodding in agreement, Ginny took a deep breath before pushing the lid open once more revealing the fastest broom on the market, the Firebolt and not just any Firebolt, Téa's Firebolt. The one she outflew a dragon on, the one that she had won the Quidditch cup on during her third year. The one Sirius gave her.

"Oh Merlin Téa -" she whispered while gingerly picking it up.

"Is that -" Fred slowly began to ask yet couldn't continue. Nobody could believe it, except of course Ron and Hermione who seemingly knew more than they were letting on.

"Miss Weasley, how pray tell have you come to be in the possession of a Firebolt?" Professor Umbridge questioned making Ginny look towards her yet, thankfully, she didn't seem to have anything to worry about as Professor McGonagall swiftly came to her defense.

"Now, now Dolores, I don't see how the possession of a broom comes to your attention. I see, by the letter, that Miss Potter has allowed Miss Weasley to borrow her broom for the time being. Very kind of her wouldn't you say?" The Head of Gryffindor remarked earning a soured expression from the woman.

"Indeed, very - kind of her." The woman agreed sounding as though speaking the words alone pained her terribly.

Thankfully, the woman walked away leaving the Gryffindors on their own once more.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I think you have just been given the blessing of our former Seeker for the position. Good luck, you might also want to practice on that before your match against Slytherin." Professor McGonagall remarked before walking away.

As she did, Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione giving them one look. She wanted to know how the hell this was possible and what the hell they knew. How could Téa send her, her Firebolt. She was… she was not with them.

"How?" She whispered.

"Well Ginny, a kiss doesn't mean the end after all." Hermione remarked before she and Ron ross and left the table leaving the others rather confused by that statement.

…

"She is doing notably well," Poppy Pomfrey announced as she scanned over the prone figure of Téa Potter. "Muscular system has yes to deteriorate; the potions and physical exercises you are performing seem to be doing well for her. Also, she has gained weight, which is most noticeable, still it is clear her magic is still taking vital nutrients as I notice more white hair than before."

Here she gazed at the child's hair, where beforehand the black had been dominating now the white silver hair was more prominent.

"I recommend that you continue along these lines. If the information you have gathered is to be believed then there is a slight chance that she does return." She concluded before turning to the four adults in the room. "Your constant care for her is very heart-warming Sirius, I'm positive both James and Lily made a good choice of naming you as godfather."

"I have help Poppy, if it wasn't for Molly's food she'd still be in the state she was. Not to mention it was Hermione who found the book." Sirius remarked yet he could help but feel prouder. He wasn't going to be known as the worst godfather in existence, at least, he was doing something to help his goddaughter, better late than never, though.

"Indeed and I think we also have Miss Potter herself to thank for quite a lot. If it wasn't for her very soul fighting to return we would not be in this situation. Perhaps not all is lost," Albus, announced a twinkle returning to his eyes as he gazed at – what many members of staff called – his favorite student.

"Well, I think we should be returning to Hogwarts before Dolores notices all our absences. It would be best if we did not give the Ministry extra ammunition as the muggles would say." Minerva announced before walking over to her lion cub's bed and looking down at her. "You are brave Téa, I wait for your return to Hogwarts, it has been – far too slow." She murmured before placing a small stuffed snitch beside her.

With that, Minerva left her student's side and the room as a whole, while discretely wiping at the tears in her eyes.


	12. Chapter twelve

**Chapter twelve**

 **Trying to keep people in while keeping other people out, isn't as easy as you might think**

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Mouth open wide in shock, Téa couldn't help but stare. There was no possible way that she was going to learn from one of the Founders of Hogwarts. That was just not possible! This was like – a dream come true to so many people! Hundreds of Hogwarts students went through the discussion. "If you had the choice to learn from a Founder of Hogwarts, which one would you, learn from?" Of course, the student normally answered that they'd like to be taught by their own house Founder but truly given this unbelievable opportunity, she could not doubt that she truly didn't care who taught her.

"Oh dear me, it is possible you don't even know what Hogwarts is…" The woman began.

"Are you kidding me?" Téa choked out coming out of her shock as the woman's expression turned from one of kindness to one of complete apology. "I attend Hogwarts! It's considered one of the best schools in Europe!"

"Is it now?" The woman exclaimed more than a little surprised by the revelation. "Well, that is heart-warming to hear that our school has lasted so long, of course, we are not here simply to speak about Hogwarts, and we are also here to learn are we not?" The woman remarked kindly before walking towards her and gazing her up and down. "Of course, in my day, girls your age didn't wear such things but once again things do change."

Blushing at that, Téa felt a little more self-conscious especially considering the woman before her was rather modestly covered.

"Didn't have a choice in outfits," she mumbled weakly earning a soft laugh before her chin was forced up with gentle hands.

"Do not worry yourself, dear; you have nothing to be ashamed of. Actually, I would say you have quite a bit to be proud of. You are a beautiful young woman and I am certain that you look beautiful in anything you wear." Hufflepuff whispered before leading her to one of the beds so that she could sit down on one while the woman sat on another.

"Um - What am I supposed to call you, the only other teacher I've had has been an ancestor of mine -" she rambled off earning an amused expression from the woman.

"My students normally call me Professor Hufflepuff, would you be comfortable with calling me as such?" The older witch questioned which relieved Téa.

"That would be perfect, Professor," She agreed.

"Now then I know you are here to learn from me, what I will be teaching you is my specialty, apperation and its use in duels. I will also be teaching you some useful Healing techniques. As you could possibly tell, I was responsible for the infirmary just as I taught Potions to the students of Hogwarts." Professor Hufflepuff revealed making Téa gap.

"What you – you taught potions?" Téa questioned startled by the revelation.

"Yes, what subject do you think I taught dear?" The woman questioned a ton of amusement lacing her delicate voice which was such a stark contrast to Snape it was hard to believe she taught the same subject.

"I – well the thought was that you taught Herbology ma'am or Charms. Our current Potion teacher is – well very different than you." She remarked earning a nod from the founder.

"All teachers are different from one another, and Potion is a very difficult and dangerous subject to learn. If performed badly, it can lead to injury or death. I am sure your Professor is only looking out for your wellbeing and knows all of these facts. Now I think it would be best if we begin our lessons do you not?" Professor Hufflepuff announced before turning to the side and instantly Téa noticed the sudden appearance of a large wooden table covered with various bowls, vials, flasks, plants and flowers, many of which Téa did not recognize at all.

"I wish to know your knowledge of ingredients, please begin naming the ones you do know. Do not worry about what you do not know." Professor Hufflepuff assured her and with a gulp Téa stood and walked over.

Looking at the widespread layout of ingredients she tried her best to stop her racing heart before deciding to just start. Gathering up one plant, she looked at it and swiftly identified it.

"This is Aconite," she answered earning a nod of agreement from her newest Professor.

"Tell me about it,"

"Its also known as monkshood or wolfsbane and has magical properties. The flower is useful for potion-making but its leaves are very toxic. It's a commonly known ingredient in a potion known as Wolfsbane. The root of aconite can be used as potion ingredient as well." She explained earning a nod before she was urged to continue.

"This is Belladonna, it's a mundane plant with magical uses. Fluids from the plant are poisonous yet are used by students at Hogwarts in Potion class. It's part of our standard potion making kit. It also goes by Atropa, Deadly Nightshade, and a few other names. The see of the Belladonna plant is purple."

Going on and on, she continued to build her confidence even as she did not recognize most of the ingredients.

"Finally, this is the last one I do recognize, it's a Bezoar. Every first-year potions student learns about this. It's a stone-like mass taken from the stomach of a goat that acts as an antidote to most poisons. It's used in the preparation of the Antidote to Common Poisons. It's usually made of hair, plant fiber or similar indigestible matter that stays in the gut of an animal and forms a hard ball of "stone"." She finished earning a nod from her Professor.

"Well done, you named quite a few. Now let me clear some of the other ingredients. This," Hufflepuff announced while picking up a small pot containing a powdered white substance. "Is powdered Basilisk fang. It's rare and hard to come by but it can be used in creating one of the deadliest poisons man made. You do know what a Basilisk is correct?"

"Fought one, wasn't pleasant. We don't talk about Basilisk parts actually because one hasn't been 'seen' in many years." Téa answered while frowning at the bowl.

She actually didn't know that a Basilisk could be harvested into Potion ingredients. Of course it did make sense, most magical creatures held parts that could be used in potions. Dragons had dragon blood, scales, and others, unicorns had unicorn hair. Etc. Why not a Basilisk? Yet it also showed one a Basilisk was a category XXXXX Beast. If you weren't a parseltongue it would have been hard to approach one and even then it was a risky situation you got yourself in.

Realizing that Hufflepuff had yet to speak Téa looked up and found that the witch was staring at her in shock, and clearly much paler than she had been before.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked confused and a bit worried. The last thing she wanted was to offend this specific teacher.

"You – fought a Basilisk?" Helga questioned making Téa smile.

"It wasn't a pleasant memory; I try to forget about it. The Chamber of Secrets was opened during my second year – again – and the monster inside was unleashed. The Monster turned out to be a Basilisk. Thankfully it didn't kill anybody – that time – but a friend was taken down into the chamber. To save her I had to fight the Basilisk and ended up killing it." Téa explained startling the woman even more.

"Salazar's pet was unleashed upon the school?!" "Pet?!" Téa exclaimed startled to learn that Helga knew what the Monster had been.

"Yes, Salazar raised the Basilisk as a mode of protection for Hogwarts. She was supposed to protect but I never suspected she would have survived that long. How on earth did you kill her? She would have been giant." Helga questioned making Téa snort.

"She wasn't giant, she was bigger. I killed her by shoving a sword up her mouth, not the brightest idea I ever had but everything worked out in the end. My friend was safe and that's all that mattered. Plus I had an advantage, I could, at least, understand it somewhat. I'm a parselmouth, so I can understand snakes." She finished earning a raised eyebrow from the older woman.

"That was a rather brash way of dealing with things, I'd rather think Gryffindor would have chosen you for his own house, yet with a talent such as Parseltongue Salazar would have wanted you in his own house," Hufflepuff remarked making Téa chuckle.

"Considering I was sorted into Gryffindor that would be one of the biggest compliments I could get Professor Hufflepuff." She chuckled earning a soft laugh from her Professor.

"Indeed, may I ask if you were considered for any other house or was it a straight affirmative for Gryffindor?" Hufflepuff questioned with curiosity.

"Actually, the hat was stuck between two houses. It thought I'd do remarkably well in Slytherin but with certain events, I chose to avoid the serpent's pits and go into the lion's den." She answered being honest for once about the sorting hats choice.

"Interesting, I suspected the two of them would have indeed fought for you in their houses, no doubt duelled for such a promising student. I can tell with great certainty that you have incredible magical powers within you and a great deal of talents. Then there is the slight air of mystery about you. I have only ever seen that air around one other student and she was indeed a very big mystery to us all. You see her name was Cadellia, she was sorted into Ravenclaw and was extremely intelligent but also very ambitious which was why she got along with the Slytherins so well." Hufflepuff revealed making Téa grin, it was fun to learn about people of the past. "Now enough about houses, I will finish explaining these potion ingredients and we shall continue on to brewing. I wish to see you do a potion for me so that I can deduce your technique. Of course are there any other secret skills you'd like to reveal to me?"

"No, none that I am aware of but I do have somebody to introduce you to, this is my friend, Attor," She announced while motioning to her shoulder where Attor was finally making herself known as she slithered from underneath her cloak.

"Lady Hufflepuff?" The snake questioned clearly shocked by the appearance of the woman yet not as much as Téa who turned her gaze sharply to her friend.

"You know her?" She hissed demandingly.

"Yes, she was a good friend of my masters." Attor answered. "I did not know her for long but she did visit my master on occasion. They used to be colleges as a school for magic."

…

"The current wards surrounding Azkaban have been completely fixed," Bill informed his superior earning a nod of approval. "Currently, we have started on the basic wards, one of which includes those very specific wards. We thought we'd get them down quick."

"Good, those were specified by Heiress Potter, she sure had a good head on her for ward choices."

"Wait, Téaleon chose most of these wards?" Bill questioned shocked by the revelation yet instead of the goblin answering him it was Kingsley.

"She made a fair donation towards the rebuilding of the wards. Choose many of them that Madam Bones couldn't put in place with her limited budget. It was quite generous of her." Kingsley remarked before a horn was blown causing many of them to tense. "Could we count on Goblins if it came to battle?"

"We have been given the affirmative to give support to aurors if we are indeed under attack," The goblin agreed, earning a nod from Kingsley. "Bill, have your wand handy, that was a notice. I think we might be getting unwanted visitors."

"Do you think – he was informed?" Bill questioned.

"Make sure any wards that are set to be installed are installed, we will try to defend you as you install as many as possible. He is not getting his followers out of his prison." Kingsley ordered before leaving the room.

Hurriedly both Bill and the goblin followed suit, the goblin shouting out orders to his goblins while Bill hurried to inform the other curse breakers and warders of what they were ordered to do. As he turned, his attention was caught by Dementors. They were aiding in the breakout, clearly they had returned to Voldemort's side.

"Patronus at hand!" He shouted to his team. "Curse Breakers able to defend, defend. The rest of you help in the wards, get as many up as possible!"

"Death Eaters have landed!" Came a shout and no sooner had that been announced did spells start flying by. Cursing their luck, Bill hurriedly cast shield charms around them as aurors hurried to defend.

"We'll only get this last ward in place Weasley! We don't have enough movement for the rest!" Came a shouted.

"Then anchor the ward and send the stones underground!" He ordered before sending a hex towards the nearest attacking figure, sending him flying back. "Don't let them get a hold of those stones! They are vital to keeping the wards in place!"

"Emergency signal has been sent!" Tonks shouted as she arrived on scene. "Re-enforcements on their way, but merlin knows when they'll get here!"

"Stones underground!" A warder shouted before they also joined the fray. "This is nuts! I thought Death Eaters were done for!" "The Dementors have turned! They are not to be trusted!"

"What was your first clue!"

Moving forward, back to back with Tonks, Bill ignored the comments being shot out by the others, concentrating on taking down as many opponents as he could while defending the woman who was guarding his back. From the corner of his eye, he could see a goblin take down one black robed individual.

It seemed like Voldemort had underestimated their numbers or their ability as their opponents seemed to fall as soon as their numbers began dwindling and they noticed that the Dementors weren't able to help them. Finally, the remaining few chose to escape capture leaving the small team panting and tired from the battle.

"Bind all captured enemy's make sure there are guards around them capable of doing a patronus. Amelia's on her way so I want warders back on the job. We need the rest of the wards up, great work on the others they withstood multiple attacks, that's what we need. Bill was that specific ward set up to a book yet?"

"Yes, it was think Amelia's going to be pleased?" Bill questioned while pulling a leather bound book from his pocket. "We'll hook it up to a bigger book later but for now, it made due."

"Kingsley, Madam Bones has arrived!" Came a shout and no sooner had that announcement been made did they all turn to find the intimidating woman known as Amelia Bones hurrying towards them with a group of aurors hurrying to keep up.

"Tell me he didn't get his followers," She demanded.

"The wards stood ma'am, were installing the last of them now, but one that was installed might come in handy for you," Bill answered while handing the leather bound book to the head of the DMLE. "Its called a magical identification ward,"

"This is one of the wards requested by Téaleon Potter was it not?" Amelia questioned curiously. "What exactly does it do?"

"Yes, it was, it's a very unique ward, it gives information on every witch or wizard who enters the wards, considering they begin straight at the edge of the island everybody who participated in the battle are in that book, names, and status. Statues mean that any spells upon their persona are also revealed." Bill explained earning a shocked expression from the woman.

"Are you saying – that I have a list of all participants in this attack but also a means to tell me if they were of right mind?" She asked hopefully.

"That ward detects if any of the people who come through have been placed under the imperius curse, or any other sort of spells. It's a very – brilliant ward." Bill admitted before excusing himself to go and aid his fellow workers, leaving Amelia with Kingsley.

"This – this is amazing."

…

Storming into the Minister's office, Amelia swiftly spotted Percy Weasley sitting at his desk. It didn't take long for him to notice her arrival and seemed rather put out by it, especially with the company she held.

"Madam Bones, to what do I owe your arrival, you do not have a meeting with the Minister –" "Tell him I'm here on official business Weasley. It's about Azkaban and if he doesn't speak to me then so help him he won't know what the bloody well hit him." She snapped and although the boy spluttered in defense he thankfully did as told.

Waiting impatiently for his return she was glad that she was not alone and that Kingsley and William Weasley were also with her. When the boy finally did return he paid no mind to his older brother which placed much more evidence in her hand then he thought it did.

"The Minister of Magic will see you," he announced pompously earning a snort from William that she chose to ignore.

"Good," was all she said before she walked into the office, followed by her two companions.

Entering the grand office she instantly spotted the man himself sitting behind his desk looking rather worried and Amelia felt a sense of pride in that. It was about time this man started to worry because, for all sense, he lost them many months of preparation.

"Amelia, to what do I owe this unexpected meeting?" the man questioned making her anger grow yet she held it in, it would not due to blow up at the man, at least not right now.

"Azkaban was attacked Cornelius," she announced, not even trying to keep the information till later and it had its effect.

Immediately the man paled, his complexion turning sickly at the thought of a mass breakout from Azkaban and Amelia didn't believe that it was simply because of safety, he was also thinking about his public image.

"The attack was fooled by the team that was on the ground updating the wards. The update happened just in time and only a few wards needed to be added after the attack. The Dementors have fled Azkaban Cornelius and you know the only reason they would do that would be if they had a master they would follow." "He is not back!" Cornelius shouted yet Amelia simply shook her head before pulling a book from her best and placing it on the man's desk. "We were able to capture many of the people who attacked Azkaban and they have been questioned under the new modified Veritaserum."

"Amelia –" "They committed an act of treason by attacking Azkaban Cornelius." Amelia hurried to interrupt not letting the man continue. "It was my right to do as I saw fit to gather the information I would need. There was also a little bit of a – how would you say – plus side to the attack on Azkaban. You see funding was provided through a donation and this donation allowed for a certain ward to be placed around Azkaban. This ward is known as the a Magical Identification ward,"

"This ward is hooked up to a book," Bill Weasley hurried to explain. "It's almost like the Hogwarts Student book but this book is anchored to Azkaban alone. It identifies by name whoever enters the wards and it also informs us of their status. This means that if they are under the Imperius Curse the ward will know. For example sir, if you look at the first pages you will find a list of names dated last evening time of the attack and all."

With that, Amelia opened the book and made sure to show the contents to Fudge.

...

 _ **Name: Statues: Date / Time**_

 _ **Lucius Malfoy November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Gibbon November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Fenrir Greyback November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Walden Macnair November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Nott Imperius Curse November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Travers November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Stan Stumpike Imperius Curse November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **Tompson Dublin November 16 1995 / 11:30:16**_

 _ **...**_

"The only two people who were there that were under the influence of the Imperius Curse were Nott and Stan Stumpike. The others were under no influence whatsoever. They were there under their own free will. Lucius Malfoy has been using you, Cornelius, using you to get what he wants." Amelia declared, eyes boring into her superiors as she spoke hoping that he understood just what she was saying.

"I – I" Yet the Minister couldn't seem to gather a full sentence.

"Minister," Kingsley began, he deep calm voice always useful in situations such as these. "During our questioning of the captured Death Eaters we gained information that you should know, I know you wish to believe that he is, in fact, dead, but Minister he is not. Death Eaters have confirmed that the Dark Lord Voldemort has indeed returned, he is taking his time to gather his forces and his enemies."

"This is impossible -" Fudge continued yet it was clear he was desperate to believe his own words.

Looking at each other, the trio knew that it wouldn't take much to make Fudge realize that something was, in fact, wrong and that things were not perfect in their world. The man had been running a smear campaigned against a teenage girl who had been telling the truth all along and who had only wanted them to be informed that one of the darkest dark lords to live had indeed returned.

"Cornelius – look I understand that it is hard to admit that you were wrong. To be honest, I did not want to believe it either but we must see that we have an opportunity right now. Voldemort does not know that we know of his return. We can work and form a plan. We can reform our own forces and fool Voldemort into thinking that we are none the wiser." Amelia hurried to put her ideas on the table.

"Amelia – this is, I will be seen as a fool, I allowed myself to be manipulated by," Yet the man froze as though now just realizing who was in the room with him and the head of one of his most important departments.

"Cornelius listen to me, everybody makes mistakes, some make bigger ones than others but it is admitting that you made a mistake that makes an incredible difference. We can work to fix things, to bring things to our advantage. Do you trust me?" Amelia questioned and instantly the office fell into an icy silence.

Author note:

Note to everybody, I am not the best at writing action scenes, that is why this is the first really big action scene in the story. If people have advice send it on I'll take it all into consideration when continuing my story.


	13. Chapter thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Wow, talk about things to do!**

 **…**

* * *

 **…**

Ronald Weasley was enjoying a quiet breakfast in the Great Hall for once. It wasn't very often that happened but thankfully today, being Friday seemed to be giving him a break. Just then, Hermione hurried into the Great Hall, holding a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hands. As she made it to Ron the owl post began to fly in.

"Something unbelievable happened," Hermione panted out before shoving the newspaper into Ron's hands.

"Hermione you know I don't read this load of dragons dung, I still don't know why you read it. I mean all they do is bad mouth Téa," Ron remarked yet Hermione shook her head and continued to push it into his line of sight. "Fine, fine, I'll read it you, bloody mental woman." He grumbled before putting his goblet of Pumpkin juice back down and grabbing the paper.

The moment his eyes landed on the front page, the unmistakable picture of Azkaban met his eyes. Hurrying to find the start of the article, he swiftly began to read.

 _ **Azkaban mass breakout thwarted!**_

 _ **Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for magic, confirmed an attempted mass breakout from Azkaban. Standing at his side was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones also gave her affirmative to this subject.**_

 _ **On November 16th at 11:30 in the night, an attempted mass breakout of Azkaban was made. A large number of robed individuals made their way to our world's prison and tried to remove several individuals. All their attempts though were thwarted as the group met the hand of a Gringotts/Ministry team who were working on re-enforcing the wards of Azkaban.**_

 _ **Curse-breakers, warders, goblins, and aurors found themselves on the island all there for one specific goal. They were to reform the old wards of Azkaban and add new ones. No doubt, the Ministry wished to keep this knowledge close to the vest as it would make it so the wards were weakest during their reforming. Still it seemed as though the attacking forces were just too late as Gringotts informed us that most of the wards had been set in place before they were even aware that the attackers were approaching.**_

" _ **We find ourselves, thankfully in a better situation we were two and a half years ago when the Murderer Sirius Black escaped," Fudge announced. "Although we do not suspect the incidents to be related especially as there were sightings of Sirius Black outside of Europe. I am proud to give full credit to a joint Gringotts and Auror task force that had been given the task to upgrade the wards of Azkaban. What they did last night merits more than we could ever offer as we suspect that the prisoners who were targeted for the mass breakout were old supporters of You-Know-Who."**_

" _ **Aurors were quick to defend the warders of Gringotts and we greatly appreciated the help given to them by the goblins on hand. This event showed us that our two sides can indeed co-operate in many ways. We are also happy to announce that the wards around Azkaban have been upgraded and improved in many ways, of course for safety precautions information is being kept to a minimal." Amelia Bones continued.**_

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered completely taken aback.

"Kingsley, Tonks, and your brother were all there during the attack. Ron this is wonderful, you know who's is in Azkaban. Some of Vol… Voldemort most dangerous followers are there, the Lestrange's are in Azkaban, Rookwood, Dolohov, and others." Hermione whispered hurriedly. "The fact that they are still there means he doesn't have some of his most loyal followers. I mean Bellatrix Lestrange alone thought to be one of his most powerful followers."

"This is good; it means he has fewer followers for his cause." Ron concluded before looking around to find that most of the hall was reading the paper before looking towards the staff table to find that both McGonagall and Dumbledore were not there while Umbridge was frowning down at her own copy. "Wonder what she's going to do?"

…

"What the fuck do you mean they were friends?" Téaleon Potter hissed furiously at her friend. "You never once mentioned that your old master was a Founder of Hogwarts and really the only one it could have been was Salazar Slytherin!"

"You never asked," Attor answered simply making Téa growl before she through her hands in the air.

"Snakes!" She exclaimed in English earning a soft chuckle from Hufflepuff.

"Salazar used to say the same thing dear,"

"Well, Attor, apparently belonged to – well um Professor Slytherin?" She asked unsure what to call the man yet when the woman gave a nod she felt a bit more relaxed.

"Intriguing, she does resemble a snake Salazar used to be seen around, but she is much younger." Helga remarked while gazing at Attor with curiosity.

"She was the second snake," Téa admitted earning a nod from the woman before she sat straight.

"Yes I do remember the second snake, well it seems you have a very interesting friend at your side Téa I presume she will be very valuable to you during your journey."

"She already has," Téa admitted while thinking back to the fyendfire.

For a moment, there was silence until finally Helga clapped her hands together.

"I think it would be the perfect time to begin your brewing," She declared before leading her towards a second section of the hospital wing, this one holding a full brewing workplace. "I wish to observe you for your first potion. I won't make any comments, simply do your best and do not worry about anything."

"My brewing skills aren't the best Professor," Téa tried to protest yet the woman would have none of it and swiftly put her to work.

Standing behind the wood table with her cauldron on one side and all the ingredients for her potion, Téa took a deep breath before looking down at the potion she was supposed to make. Thankfully, she recognized the potion as a very simple healing potion they had learned during their second year.

Taking a deep breath, she began the task at hand trying not to pay attention to her teacher. Surprisingly it wasn't hard. Professor Hufflepuff was nothing like Snape. She did no hover, she simply sat on a comfortable looking tufted leather chair watching yet not judging.

…

Albus Dumbledore was in a thoughtful place on this certain Friday morning. News of the attempted breakout had reached his attention before it was revealed to the public. Young Willian had delivered the news with permission from Amelia.

To know that Azkaban had been warded with extra wards and the old ones upgraded was reassuring. Still, William had also informed him of a very important tidbit of information that Amelia had not told him perhaps seeing it as insignificant.

Some of the wards around Azkaban had been chosen by Téaleon and funded by a generous donation from the girl as well. This meant that his young student had gone to Gringotts early in the summer. This raised the question of how much she knew, after all, she was still a child.

"Albus!" Came a shout, which startled him from his thoughts. Only years of practice helped him in keeping a calm face when startled and so as he turned his attention to find Amelia Bones gazing at him through his fireplace, he looked every bit the calm Headmasters he was known as.

" To what do, I owe this visit, Amelia?" He questioned kindly rather surprised by her appearance in his fire.

"Albus, would you kindly come through to Cornelius' office?" The Head of the DMLE requested once again surprising the aged Headmaster. "We need to discuss certain events,"

Without waiting for his reply Amelia vanished from his fireplace and so after summoning a house elf and giving the rather agreeable little creature strict Orders he made his way to his floo and little time stepped from his office into the grand office of the Minister for Magic.

"Amelia, Cornelius," he greeted upon seeing the two adults in the office. "It would seem as though we have some very important things to discuss."

"Dumbledore with the recent attack on Azkaban and the information Amelia has just gotten – I suspect you and Potter were right." The Minister began while fidgeting with his bowler hat. "The Dementors abandoned their post, and – after questioning it was revealed that he – You-Know-Who has indeed returned to life."

"We had hoped that we could form plans. Many things need to be put in place before things get out of hand," Amelia hurried to speak to the relief of the Minister.

"I would be all too willing to aid in this endeavor Amelia, Cornelius." He agreed very pleased that at a long last the Minister had accepted the truth. "What are the first things you wish to place into effect?"

"Amelia has made very good suggestion yet one I am very hesitant on." The Minister admitted.

"Lifting the kiss on site order for Sirius Black, I have explained to the Minister that I do have my doubts on the Sirius Black case. Also it would be ideal to know how he escaped from Azkaban to begin with." Amelia remarked catching the Headmaster off guard.

Amelia knew of Sirius' innocence, something she had learned off only a short time ago. The fact that she was actively trying to gain Sirius his freedom gave him hope that the young man who had once been filled with such a bright future could regain some of his past life, or at least his freedom.

"I agree with Amelia Cornelius, Sirius Black might, in fact, have information that could prove valuable," He agreed.

"Not to mention there is the fact that I have not found a single transcript of the Sirius Black trial. If Sirius Black was sentenced to Azkaban without a trial then no information was gathered and intelligence might have been lost. With the war at its end, many were celebrating and chose to ignore or forget certain facts. Be that as it may, the Black Family is a Noble and Ancient Family. They hold a seat in the Wizengamot and Sirius Black is considered the legal heir to its seat." Amelia revealed making Cornelius sigh before rubbing his brow.

"If Black wasn't given a trial this could cause pandemonium in our world. Man sentenced to Azkaban without trial, who knows who else, was sent to Azkaban without a trial we would have to re-questioning all of those involve or at the very least run each prisoner's name against trial records." Fudge remarked before sitting back.

"It would be tedious but you would gain recognition for putting right where there had been wrong Minister. You would be known for the Minister who was able to fix problems of the past." Amelia hurried to say and not for the first time Albus Dumbledore questioned if the Sorting Hat had almost placed the formidable woman in Slytherin. It was clear that she could be very manipulative in certain events and with certain people, or it was simply that she knew how to use certain things to her advantage.

"Indeed, well I will rescind my order of Kiss on site. Sirius Black is to be captured alive and unharmed. If he surrenders to Law Enforcement or a Ministry Employee without do harm he will be given a swift and lawful trial," Cornelius announced earning an unnoticed exchange of relief between his fellow companions. "Now to the next order of business, Téaleon Potter, I must speak with the girl. Apologies for the way I acted so many months ago and how I have been acting. You do know where she is do you not Dumbledore?"

"I do, but at the moment, she is unable to leave her present position. It is a strictly guarded area and her safety is utmost importance Cornelius. If you so wish to communicate with her, you could pen a simple letter and I will be sure to deliver it to her upon my next visit. Yet I warn you she is given very little freedom to write to others." Dumbledore announced choosing to continue to hide Téa's situation. The information he had gained from Sirius and Remus was both hopeful yet worrisome as well.

"Surely the girl could return to Hogwarts –" The Minster began yet at Amelia shake of the head he relented. "Very well, I will compose a letter in the next few days and deliver it to you Dumbledore."

"Thank you, Cornelius, now the next discussion I think we need to have would be the placement of Dolores Umbridge as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"Dolores is a fine woman Dumbledore, I have no hesitation is stating that she is perfectly qualified to teach students," Cornelius exclaimed.

"I wish to recommend a full audit of Professors at Hogwarts, done by the Department of Magical Education. An audit could inform us of any holes in the education of the next generation and aid us in fixing it." Amelia announced startling Dumbledore. "By doing all classes, we eliminate the pressure of it seemingly targeting a single teacher, this would also give us a chance to review teaching standards at Hogwarts which haven't been done in many years. The last one I think was done when you, Dumbledore, became Headmaster."

"Indeed, it has been a very long time since an evaluation was made on my staff and a dear say, it would put them on their toes. You have my full co-operation Amelia." He agreed, earning a nod from the woman.

"Would it be possible to obtain teachers in the case of other Professors being inadequate for the position?" Cornelius questioned worriedly. "Being mid-year we would not want the students to suffer horribly."

"Indeed, I doubt it would be hard finding adequate professors for certain subjects only one subject has given me the hardest time, the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Cornelius the one teacher who did have a good ability with students was Remus Lupin. Now he might be a werewolf but he has absolutely no history of attacking any person during the full moon with the exception of that one night and that one night he chose to hurry to the defense of his students who seemed to be in the presence of a wanted murderer." Dumbledore explained earning a hard look from the man before Amelia piped in. "What were the grading results for that year compared to previous years?"

"Compared to previous years, the grades of Defense Against the Dark Arts were very good, Remus is a wonderful Professor, able to teach students very well. He is considered an expert on the subject and has traveled around the world because of it." Dumbledore answered and for a moment the Minister was silent.

"Certain measures would have to be put into place." He declared earning a soft smile from the aged Headmaster. "We would also have to assure parents that all precautions are being taken for the safety of the students. Every full moon he would have to be away from the castle completely for the transformation and an adequate replacement furnished for the class, or perhaps assignments in the library."

"All of that could be arranged, already Remus has a place where he transforms every full moon, it is very secure and he will harm no one when there. In addition, the wolfsbane Potion would be offered to him courtesy of Hogwarts own Potion Master." Dumbledore announced earning a nod from the Minister.

"I would have to make a press conference for the subject, only if it comes to that point." The man remarked before taking a deep breath and giving a nod. "I think if these measures are followed then it would be allowed and parents would approve of it."

"Good, I was hoping we could do the examination secretly and without notice of professors. Would there be a way to do that Headmaster?" Amelia questioned and a for a moment the Headmaster gazed up at the ceiling in contemplation.

"The only way I would think it could be done is if somebody were to take the identity of a student, but that would involve polyjuice potion which is not recommended, unless. Miss Tonks is a Metamorphmagus. She could take the identity of a certain student and attend lessons in her place." Dumbledore concluded, earning approving nods from both Amelia and Cornelius.

"That would be perfect, Auror Tonks only left Hogwarts a few years ago, she would be able to understand student's more than older individuals. She would do perfectly for the position but it bares the question of who would she take the identity off?" Amelia questioned earning a twinkling gaze from the aged Headmaster.

"I suspect Miss Tonks would have to take the appearance of more than one student to investigate all of my teachers but I do have a few students in mind that Miss Tonks would not have trouble impersonating."

…

Well dear, you've improved." Hufflepuff announced while looking down at the potion bubbling slightly in the cauldron. "After learning more the basics and small tricks you seem to get a better handle on potions."

"I'm better at cooking, you don't really have to follow a specific recipe when you cook, potions well you do." Téa remarked feeling a bit foolish for making that her excuse.

"Indeed, potions can be very strict in that sense but do not doubt your ability you can do more than you think," Hufflepuff assured her while giving her a kind smile before she took her wand and waved it at the potion causing it to mostly disappear. Like the successful potions before it three vials of the potion lay on the ground. Gathering them up Téa added them to her satchel before following her Professor to a set of chairs. "The last item I wish to teach you is a very powerful tool, apparition."

Grinning brightly, Téa couldn't hide her excitement. It would be useful to have in dueling and battles.

Of course, she would have to limit her usage of it considering she wasn't old enough to be able to do it legally yet.

"We will start out small. Now I am guessing that you have a bit of experience with apparition?" Helga questioned snapping Téa from her thoughts.

"Actually I have none, you have to have a license and be seventeen to apparate." She answered earning a rather shocked expression from the older woman before she shook her head in disappointment. "Apparition is a very useful skill to have, in our time we used it to escape, to travel great distances. It's a shame that you do not learn it until you are seventeen but we shall now allow that to detour us and it certainly won't change my mind. You will learn to apparate successfully."

"So what do I need to know?" Téa asked excitement shining through as her eagerness took over. "And how are we going to do apparition here?"

"Simple, by using circles," Helga chuckled while waving her wand causing two circles made of rope to appear at two different parts in the hospital wing. "Now a little bit of information, apparition is a magical method of transportation by using focus and having a desired location in their mind. Once you have the location in mind you disappear from your current location and instantly reappear at the desired locations. If not done properly it can lead to severe injury. The best way to do it is to use the three D's Destination, Determination and Deliberation. One must be completely determined to reach one's destination and move without haste, but with deliberation. Now do you think you can do this?"

The question startled Téa yet she understood why Professor Hufflepuff was worried. Apparation could cause serious harm but if you were determined then you could do it. All she had to do was think of the three D's and she'd be able to do it.

"I'm ready," she answered earning an encouraging smile from her Professor.

"Good, there is nothing else to do then simply doing it," That simply statement made Téa smile before she rose to her feet and nervously made her way to the nearest rope circle.

Looking towards the other she took a deep breath. Calming herself she concentrated on the other circle before shutting her eyes. Willing her magic to the surface she took another deep breath before turning on her heel.

The moment she turned everything went black; she felt as though she was being pressed from all sides, as though being forced through a straw. Her eyeballs felt like they were being forced back into her skull, she couldn't breathe until finally everything stopped.

Opening her eyes she looked around and found herself in the second circle. She had done it, she had successfully disappeared from one place and appeared in another.

"Well done Téa, oh very well done!" Helga exclaimed while clapping making Téa look towards her Professor only to find her clapping. " You barely made a sound which is very good and from what I can see, no splinching."

Feeling rather proud of herself she concentrated on the circle she had just come from before once again turning on her heel. Feeling the same horrible sensation as before she was grateful when it ended and found herself back in the first circle.

"Well you certainly have a talent for magic my dear, well done, I think what you need now is simply practice. To use apparition in Dueling you need to be quick. It needs to be second nature to you," Helga announced before beginning to order her towards various places within the hospital wing.

Finally, after what felt like hours she was ordered back to the first circle before leading Helga rose to her feet and walked towards her.

"You have talent my dear; continue to practice both apparition and potions. Potions may not be your strong suit but can do it if you set your mind." She assured her making Téa smile yet it was filled with sadness.

"Thank you Professor; for teaching me, it has been a huge honor. The skills you have taught me will hep me when I get my soul back to my body," Téa whispered before ducking her head knowing that tears were forming in the corner of her eyes.

Feeling gentle hands on either side of her face, she let them lift her so that she was looking into warm hazel eyes.

"Never be afraid of crying child, it takes great courage, something you have plenty of. I see a good heart in you, a large heart." With that, Professor Hufflepuff placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead and things began to spin. "It has been my honored teaching you Téaleon Potter."

Vision blurring completely, Téa allowed the tears to fall before her vision finally returned. Brushing the tears away she looked around and found herself in a new area, which was most definitely not inside Hogwarts.

The new room she found herself in looked to be a library of sorts. It was not an exceedingly large room but it was a good size and two story's high. Those two stories were covered in rather ornate dark wood bookshelves which were covered layers of books. The floors were rich hardwood and a luxurious and soft rug was placed in the center of the room.

Against one wall there was a large fireplace framed by two stain glass windows each of which seemed to depict the night sky and constellations. All the furniture was warm and leathered yet not stiff looking, covered in furs and pillows. The lighting in the room came from the hanging chandeliers from the wood-coffered ceiling that stood, at least, twenty feet above her.

It was all amazing.

"Brilliant isn't it?" Came a male voice, which had Téa spinning to find a handsome young man standing not far from her.

He was a handsome man, with long dark, almost black, brown hair with blue-gray eyes. Dressed in black slacks and a blue cardigan he looked very presentable.

"It is," she agreed not really knowing what to say, she didn't recognize this man although he did look remarkable like her godfather.

"Thank you, and allow me to welcome you to the Black Family library. It was my father's pride and joy, his office. He spent a good portion of his time here. Now then, may I know whom I will be teaching?" The man questioned clearly curious.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking for somebody else's name?" She remarked earning a soft chuckle from the man.

"Of course, of course, allow me to introduce myself I'm Regulus, Regulus Black." He announced making her smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you; I'm Téaleon Potter, although everybody calls me Téa."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Author note:** First of all I would like to apologise for the long wait or so I've been reminded by a certain reader who's been asking me when I'll be posting a new chapter. Lol you know who you are and don't deny it! Well its all good, I've finally fixed a small time jab I had in this story and I'm now able to post this chapter. Thanks for all those who reviewed the story up to date and hope you all are enjoying, in my mind, a very different story to what people have seen up to date. So happy reading!

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 **Chapter fourteen**

 **You miss a lot when you die.**

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Regulus Black was intrigued. Gazing at the girl before him, he could swiftly notice the similarities between this young girl and his older brother's best friend – James Potter. He could also see plenty of the girl's mothers inside of her, most notably her emerald green eyes.

Yet it was clear she was also very different from her parents if they were, in fact, her parents. He could tell that she seemed to be darker, not in an evil kind of way more in a shaded kind of way. She had not had an easy childhood and clearly not an easy life at all. The way she held herself, ready to attack or defence depending on the situation. It was a way Sirius held himself whenever he was at Grimmauld Place.

"So, Téa do you have any questions?" He asked.

"Yes, are you related to my godfather - Sirius Back?" The young teen question and although Regulus knew it was irrational he felt the pang of sorrow. It seemed like his own brother never chose to speak of his existence with his goddaughter."

"Sirius Black – is my older brother," he admitted, hesitating only for a moment. "I suppose he didn't speak about me much if at all, he did think I was a loyal Death Eater after all."

"Well, it's not like we have had much time to talk," Téa hurried to defend her godfather. "Sirius was in Azkaban for twelve years till he broke out and even now he's on the run."

"Azkaban?" He demanded, unable to actually believe that his older brother had been sentenced to that hell whole. The man had been an auror, one of the best after all. "What are you talking about Azkaban, Sirius had been an auror.

"Didn't stop them did it?" The girl snorted clearly unhappy. "He was sentenced to Azkaban without a trial for the suppose mass murder of muggles and the murder of Peter Pettigrew not to mention the betrayal of James and Lily Potter," Téa answered before looking at him a bit strangely. "You were a Death Eater? I'm sorry to say but I've met both Death Eaters and Voldemort, you don't give me the same sense I had when meeting them. Actually, you give me the complete opposite sensation compared to – well compared to Lucius Malfoy."

"I was once a Death Eater, yes, but I died defecting, I died trying to bring that monster closer to being killed," Regulus remarked distastefully before shaking his head. "I find it hard to believe that Sirius would ever betray James Potter. The man would have been furious that he was sentenced to Azkaban."

"My father was killed the day before Sirius was sentenced just like my mother. I'm the only one to have survived the attack." Téa remarked before taking a deep breath and looking around. "So the Black Family Library, pretty impressive,"

Seeing an attempt at a change of subjected pushed Regulus to bite his tongue. It was clear that the subject was still not one the girl liked to discuss. With barely suppressed curiosity he pushed his questions aside before motioning for the girl to have a seat on one of the sofas.

"My father's pride and joy, he loved books, and he loved the silence of the library mostly because he had never informed my mother of its location. You see it was hidden, by my father's request. I was the only one who he informed even though he wished to inform Sirius of its location. Before he could, my brother fled Grimmauld Place. It is the place I chose to teach those I am chosen to." He remarked before clearing his throat. "I suppose you are rather curious as to what I will be teaching you."

"I've had a rather odd selection of teachers so far, you are no different but I am learning things that are rather important to my life at the moment. With War on the horizon and with Voldemort after my life again I take every opportunity to learn things that will help me in the future." She remarked revealing more than just a little bit to the man who had died betraying Voldemort.

"Why would the Dark Lord be after you again? What would he get from killing a teenage girl?" He questioned confused by that statement, after all, how could this girl gain the wrath of the Dark Lord?

"You – don't know?" She whispered, eyes narrowing as she gazed at him. "Of course, the one magical person who doesn't know about just had to be dead." She grumbled before turning away from him. "Voldemort destroyed my life, killing my parents before trying to kill me. Because he couldn't seem to do it he has been hunting me since then. It doesn't help that I apparently lead to his defeat. He seems a bit peeved by that idea. Seems to think it degrades his all evil image that a baby could defeat him."

"Wait – let me understand this better, the Dark Lord – who killed children and adults alike – could not touch you?" Regulus questioned, feeling rather sceptical about the notion.

He was hard pressed to believe the teen considering it sounded so absurd. The Dark Lord had killed countless, he would not spare this young girls life.

"Well, I don't know how it happened!" Téa exclaimed irritation clear as she spoke about the subject. " I was a year old at the time and nobody else was there bar my parents who died and a Dark Lord who doesn't know how it could have happened. Moreover, it isn't like I'm going to go up to old Voldy and ask him how the bloody hell I defeated him. I might be known as the Girl-who-lived by the entire British Wizarding world but I'm not the Girl-Who-Was-Stupid."

She spat out the last sentenced as though speaking those words was a disgusting thing to do and really Regulus could not blame her, what sort of name is Girl-Who-Lived?

"Since then he's been after me trying to kill me, failing to do so which urges him on to do it again and again." She sighed before turning away from him. "I just wish I knew how he survived because it would give a hint on how to def- kill him. He has hurt so many people." She whispered her mind swiftly moving to Cedric and others.

"Wait a moment – I thought you were famous for killing him as a baby?" Regulus questioned making her scowl.

"Apparently I was, but I didn't kill him, he wasn't dead. He – he was temporarily defeated. He returned at the end of my fourth year – last year- using my blood to come back." She answered tiredly before choosing to take a seat on one of the sofas. "He just doesn't seem to die."

For a moment there was silence, both occupants of the room were thinking of different subjects when Regulus finally chose that it was time to begin teaching. They – after all – did not have much time accorded to them and he had plenty to teach the girl before him. If she was facing against the Dark Lord and Death Eaters she would need to know how they worked.

"I'll be teaching you about Death Eaters," Regulus stated seriously catching the teens attention. "I was once a Death Eater, I know more than others how they work. Certain Death Eaters prefer certain spells and methods of torture." Regulus explained making Téa grin. "You'll also be taught about aurors, I've faced a few and you never know, some might be followers of the Dark Lord."

"Makes sense," Téa mumbled. "Mad-Eye Moody was impersonated last year by a Death Eater, it is quite possible that they have some Aurors on their side or impersonate them."

"Mad-Eye Moody was impersonated – now that is something I never thought I would hear, but for now we must continue with your lessons. We have plenty to teach." He admitted before marching over to the fireplace and taking his wand out. With a swish and flick, a large blackboard appeared.

"Are you aware of any Death Eaters?" He asked curiously.

"Malfoy, McNair, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery and Nott, I know there are others but those are the ones I do remember. Mostly because some of them have children in my year." She admitted earning a nod from Regulus. "First, we will begin with Lucius Malfoy. That is our best bet considering he would most probably be one of his most influential Death Eaters."

"Of course, the Malfoys are one of the richest families in our world no?" She asked yet Regulus shook his head.

"Not completely, how much of the Wizengamot do you know Téa?" He asked curiously.

"Not much, to be honest, I don't know much about the wizarding world in general. Something I'm going to have to change, this entire experience has opened my eyes to that." She remarked earning a nod from the Black wizard.

"I strongly recommend it considering you are the Heiress of the Potter Family which is a Noble and Most Ancient Family." Regulus agreed yet instantly he caught Téas confused expression.

"You – don't know about the different family types do you?" He questioned hesitantly.

"Sorry –" she whispered sheepishly making Regulus sighed.

"The Wizengamot is composed of three sections, the most influential families, the lowest section is the Honored Family, they are voted in and can be voted out. Normally an Honored family has to have two votes from the other two sections as well as the influence and money to be part of it. This is normally the smallest section, the last I heard it was only a handful of families. The Shafiq Family, the Slughorn Family, the Yaxley Family, the Goyle Family, the Crabbe Family and the Malfoy Family." Regulus explained making Téas eyes grow wide before her smile grew wicked.

"The Malfoy's" "Yes they are an Honored Family only, can be rather shocking considering they walk around like they are a Noble and Most Ancient Family," Regulus grunted before moving on. "The next section is the Noble Families: this group consists of Avery, Bones, Bulstrode, Carrow, Crouch, Gaunt, Lestrange, Macmillan, Parkinson, Rowle, and Selwyn. Finally, there is the Noble and Most Ancient Families. They are the oldest in our world here in England, it consists of Abbott, Black, Burke, Fawley, Flint, Greengrass, Longbottom, Nott, Ollivander, Peverell, Potter, Prewett, Rosier, Shacklebolt, Travers and Weasley although the last does not truly look like a Noble and Most Ancient House."

"Now this is how the Dark Lord was able to gain a hold in the Wizengamot, in the Noble and Most Ancient Families he held the Rosier family, the Flint Family, the Black Family and later on the Nott Family. In the Noble Families, he held the Avery Family, the Carrow Family, and the Lestrange Family."

"How was Malfoy able to get most of his friends out of Azkaban if he was only an Honoured family?" Téa questioned.

"I suspect money, they might only be an Honoured Family but they did have the money. Money does by quite a bit in our world I'm afraid. Now we return to the first subject. The Malfoys were a great asset to the Dark Lord because of their position as Honoured members and their close proximity to Ministry officials. Lucius Malfoy also brought with him the power of the Black Family, not its main branch but it still brought great influence and even more money."

"The Blacks are related to the Malfoy's?" She questioned curiously.

"Indeed, we are, every Pureblood family is related, even the Potters and Blacks are related if distantly so," Regulus revealed making Téa wince, not at the fact that she was related to the Blacks but that she was most probably related to the Malfoys. That was not her cup of tea.

"Lucius swiftly became a member of the inner circle, power, influence, money it came with the position. Now I've seen Lucius duel, he prefers to allow others to duel for him yet when he does duel he is rather capable. He does hold a preference to the severing charm. To him, it's an easy way to get rid of a person." Regulus explained as he did so he waved his wand at the blackboard allowing a picture of Malfoy to appear along with a spell under his picture.

"The next Death Eater is McNair, not the most influential Death Eater to be but he is a gruesome one. He liked killing his enemy, slowly and painfully." Regulus remarked making Téa grumble.

"The guy's the executioner for animals working for the Ministry, I can see where he likes killing." That made Regulus sigh. It seemed like Death Eaters had infiltrated the Ministry more and more during the small amount of time there was peace. This would no doubt hurt it in the future. "We then have Nott."

As the lesson continued, Téa paid ramp attention to the lecture. This would be to her advantage. Regulus had been right, he had been a Death Eater in the past and he would know information others did not. She would learn important information.

Finally, they finished listing several Death Eaters, their positions of power and other facts about them. With a motion of his hand, Téa followed the Black wizard to one of the bookshelves. As he pulled at one book it opened revealing a hidden doorway that leads to the room.

"Welcome to the duelling room, plenty of Blacks have added to it during their time and my father was no different. It's an enchanted room with many secrets to it most notably is a very interesting feature. Once the password is given the room will change to a simulation room and you will be put against whatever I want you to be put against." Regulus remarked making Téa frown. She was tired of duelling, she had duelled a boatload before beginning these lessons.

"I want you to face Death Eaters and Aurors alike. This will give you a bit of - help when you return to your body and face real Death Eaters." He told her making her frown. She could see where this would indeed be useful.

"Well let's get this show on the road," she declared before moving to the middle of the room. With a nod from Regulus, he swiftly programmed the room and gave the password.

No sooner had he done so did the room change. Gone was simple stone walls swiftly replaced with an outside area, clearly heavily forested. The ground was damp, allowing her feet to sink into it, revealing that it was mud. There wasn't much light as it was night time.

 _There is strong magic in the room Mistress, I have never seen anything like this before_. Attor hissed, finally making herself known to her.

 _It's a simulation room of sorts, not something I've been in either Attor, keep your eyes opened. We'll be facing Death Eaters in these duels. I know I can count on you if I need you._ She remarked softly so that only her friend could hear her.

 _Of course Mistress,_

Just then, the soft rustling sound caught her attention and she swiftly turned, wand in hand just as a robed figure appeared. She didn't give the figure much chance as she shot off a wordless spell, hitting the man straight in the chest which sent him back against a tree. Senses still tingling she hurriedly spun, another spell on the tip of her tongue but this time she was a little too late as she felt a stinging sensation on her side.

Hissing in pain her free hand moved to it while a spell left her lips and with aim as true as could be slammed into her opponent who was thrown back. Knowing she was probably bleeding, she did her best to continue on. That had been one powerful slashing hex and from what she had just learned, one Death Eater, in particular, was good at using it - Malfoy.

"This might not be real, but this is for Ginny." She snarled before darting to the right, avoiding spells sent by her opponent and sending her own. With a powerful slash of her wand, the Death Eater was sent flying five feet back, hitting a large tree with a sickening crack before slumping to the ground.

With that final blow, the chamber returned to normal and she looked down at her side seeing no injury present. Clearly, this - simulation room - could mimic not only people but injuries as well. That was rather useful.

"Well done, if not a bit slow on the second one, I suppose you recognized the attack the second Death Eater used." Regulus' voice echoed off the walls forcing her to turn to look at him.

"That was Lucius Malfoy," she admitted earning a nod from the Black wizard.

"Yes, it was, something you swiftly noticed. Well done on the first opponent, very quick and I'm happy to see that wordless magic seems to be a talent you are using. It is an advantage in a duel, the other person doesn't know what you are casting and so does not know how to block it." Regulus complimented making Téa blush.

"I've just started using it, I'm rather surprised by how well it's working for me. Normally spells are a harder the first time I try something new. I thought it would apply to wandless magic as well." She admitted earning a nod from the man.

"That was a good first round; the next round will be longer. You can move and your surroundings will move with you. Take a moment to collect yourself before we begin the second round." Regulus ordered earning a nod from the teen.

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"Very well done Mister Weasley, I am happy with your improvement," Professor McGonagall complimented as she passed her lion. "I think twenty points to Gryffindor would be in order."

With a soft smile towards her tall Gryffindor, she made her way back to her office desk. Quite a lot had changed at Hogwarts this year. The absence of Téaleon Potter was one of the changes, which had affected a few changes of its own such as a new Seeker for Gryffindor. Then there was the notable division inside not only Slytherin house but also Gryffindor House. The separation was clear to the rest of the school and staff and had some on edge.

Turning her gaze to her two Fifth-year Gryffindor Prefects, she took in their whispering forms. Both had completed the assignment she had handed out, the first to do so. Mister Weasley had indeed improved greatly in his studies and not just in her own class but in other classes as well. She strongly suspected Téaleons absence was to be the reason for the change. The boy had grown up rapidly. Miss Granger as well but it was not as notable as the boy sitting beside her.

She sometimes wondered if they were both alright, she knew that losing a friend could be hard. She had lost plenty in her own lifetime. Yet she had lost them to battles, and to old age not to - to the Kiss as Miss Potter was slowly losing the battle to. They were so young and now the trio that had stood so strong against others was falling to a duo.

Turning her eye from her two Gryffindors she turned it to Mister Nott. The division in Slytherin could be said to have stemmed from the Nott family. With the boy's father being revealed to have been under the Impirius and now retaking a position against Voldemort the boy had chosen to follow his father's steps and also take a stand. He had - thankfully - not been alone. Daphne Greengrass and Blaize Zabini had chosen to stand by the boy's side along with others in their house. This brought division by splitting those who believed in Voldemort and those who did not.

The boy seemed to be fine about the situation it seemed. He was always calm and level headed, not to mention the perfect epitome of a pureblood heir. She had broken up many duels between Slytherin housemates, one of which had been between the Nott heir and the Malfoy Heir. He was - relatively well off in duelling and had dealt a harsh number to the Malfoy Heir.

Noticing the time she swiftly cleared her throat catching the attention of her students. "Homework, you are to write an eight-foot essay on the beginning of human transfiguration." She announced earning many groans from her students. "Very well than ten foot long essay,"

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Racing through the alleyways of London, T/a felt her heart race. She had to form a plan, the Death Eaters were chasing her quickly, and she had just narrowly escaped. Everything had been going well until multiple highly powerful Death Eaters had entered the mix. The spells might not have hurt her body outside of this illusion but inside they did and she had to grit her teeth as pain shot up her leg.

"I need a plan," she grunted before taking a sharp turn down one alleyway and swiftly down another. "Wards, that would be a good idea, hold them down before disarming and binding them. That means I need a good enough time to set the wards into place, but I don't have time to do that meaning I can only really use one ward, and it has to be a fast one."

 _Speaking to oneself is not very healthy Mistress_. Attor remarked making her growl.

 _In a situation like this, it is!_ She hissed back before taking a sharp turn.

Knowing she had little time she got to work, this alley would have to work for the ward considering she didn't think she could run much longer. With four Death Eaters chasing after her she was lucky she had gone this long.

Bringing her wand down, she swiftly began to carve runes. As she set the last one in place the sound of footsteps reached her ears and she hid. Just like always they knew where she was, it wasn't like in the real world, these Death Eaters could tell where she was wherever she went it was something she was counting on.

Just as expected the four Death Eaters hurried into the alley stepping right into the trap she had set for them because the moment they passed through the doorway, large golden walls of magic burst from the ground, surrounding them on all sides. With a grin, she swiftly stunned and bound the four of them happy with the small window of time the ward had given her.

Thankfully, as soon as that was done the simulation ended and she found herself back in the room.

"Not bad at all, you fought both Aurors and Death Eaters very well, took you a bit of time but you did well." Regulus complimented making her grin. "You're a good duellist, you take your instincts seriously and you can think on your feet a great advantage. You're also very quick with your wand."

"Thanks, I've had plenty of practice." She remarked before pocketing the wand. "What next?"

"I have one more thing I need to speak with you about, let us re-enter the library," Regulus remarked before leading her back to the library before they settled on sofas. "What I am about to inform you off is very sensitive in nature Téa, it involves the Dark Lord and how he has managed to survive."

"You know?" She asked startled.

"I do, Téa have you ever heard of a Horcrux?" Regulus questioned yet when Téa shook her head, he went to continue when the room began to dim.

"What – what's happening?" She questioned startled.

"I seem like our time as ended, Téa listens closely, all the information you'll need to know about Horcruxes can by found in the Black Library. The Black Library is at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius will know that location but he does not know the location of the library. The library is hidden by a painting, big enough for a doorway but –" Yet whatever Regulus was about to say was cut off as the darkness completely took over and Téa felt the floor leave her fit.

"NO! He wasn't done!" She shouted in protest yet it was futile as the darkness simply remained. "Damn it!"

"It is clear that manners have been lost upon you," came a silky smooth female voice that had Téa turning around. Still all she was met with was darkness.

"Who's there?!" She shouted anger lacing her voice at the thought that her one chance to learn something about Voldemort that might help her had been pulled away from her. "Show yourself!"

"Well that will not do rudeness such as that will not be tolerated." The voice continued before the darkness disappeared causing Téa to cover her eyes from the temporary onslaught of light.


	15. Chapter fifteen

**Chapter fifteen**

 **Dog Trial, time to sit and get a treat**

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Sirius Black felt trapped. When Dumbledore had informed him of the change in orders from Fudge, he had been pleased. Yet now as he gazed down at his goddaughter he realized that the young teen needed him. If he surrendered himself to the Ministry he wouldn't be able to care for her for Merlin knew how long.

"Sirius," Came a soft voice that had him looking up to find Remus standing in the doorway. "She would hit you for even thinking of staying here and not getting the trial you need. If you're free you can help her more than if you were trapped here."

"I – I don't want to leave her Remus, what if something happens to her while I'm gone. I can't protect her if I'm stuck in a Ministry sell waiting for my trial." He grumbled, feeling terribly conflicted.

"We'll protect her; we'll take care of her Sirius. She has me, she has Molly, Molly is practically ready to move into Grimmauld for the time you are gone. She will make sure that we are all fed. Poppy is going to come every chance she can to look after Téa. What would be best for the both of you if you went and got your freedom again." Remus urged before walking into the room and placing a hand on his friends shoulder. "She'd want this for you, she wouldn't want you to put off you trial until she returned."

Pulling his gaze from his friend he turned it to his goddaughter before taking a deep breath and rising to his feet. Bending down, he placed a gentle kiss on his goddaughter's forehead before straitening.

"Good, you have four options for a surrender that are optimal, Arthur, Kinsgley, Mad-Eye and Tonks." Remus announced while leading him from the room.

"Mad-Eye is out of question, he would normally attack me before I could even make it to the front door." He grunted earning a nod from the werewolf. "Kinsgley, there is no record of us knowing each other, Arthur isn't an Auror, he wouldn't know the proceedings. That leaves Tonks as the most viable person to surrender to. The thing is she's at Andromeda's and Andromeda doesn't know I'm innocent. If I knock at her door and Andy answers I'd be lucky to get away with minimal injury."

"We'll contact Tonks, send a message informing her that you're on the way for a surrender. That way she could answer the door before her mother." Remus announced earning a nod from Sirius. "Sirius, don't do anything foolish."

"I'll do my best," he grunted before leaving the house.

Looking around the quiet Muggle neighbourhood he couldn't help but feel a little out of place. He was a wanted criminal, not to mention a wizard who owned the House of Black most ancestral home. A place and a family who both despised muggles and who wanted nothing more than to me freed of them, yet they had settled in the middle of a muggle neighbourhood.

Shaking his head, he drew a deep breath before turning on his heel he apparated away. Within moments he arrived at his wanted destination. Choosing to give Remus enough time to contact Tonks, he gazed around himself. The Tonk's lived in a very nice muggle neighbourhood. All sorts of different homes were here and there, all with lovely gardens and unique characteristics.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he turned to the house he had been to many times in the past. He had always been a welcome figure at the Tonks, until the day he had been sent to Azkaban. Shaking his head he walked towards the house and before he could even knock at the door it was opened and he found a wand pointed at his face. A wand being held by known other than Nymphadora Tonks.

"I, Sirius Black, am surrendering myself to a Ministry official." He announced and thankfully his younger cousine took little time in jumping into the course of things. Within minutes he found himself with his hands behind his back being handcuffed. The moments the metal binds were placed around his wrist Tonks began reading him his rights. That's when Andromeda and Ted Tonks appeared in the doorway confused by their daughters long absence.

"Sirius Black, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." Tonks began and as Sirius allowed himself to gaze towards his older cousine he swiftly noticed the burning hatred in her eyes. Hatred directed towards him, something he had never felt in his life after all he and Andromeda had always gotten along, they were two white sheep in the Black Family. One falling in love with a muggle-born the other being sorted into Gryffindor and choosing not to conform to the Black traditions and ideology.

"Mum, dad go back inside," Tonks ordered while pulling him straight up. "You're lucky I got that message from Remus." She muttered into his ear.

"It was planned" was his mumbled reply before Tonks snorted. "I'm taking him to the Ministry, just go back inside!" She ordered to her parents, before with absolutely no resistance apparating them both to the Ministry of Magic, Auror approved apparition zone.

Sirius had been in this room many times before, as an auror yet never as a prisoner. The room was rather simple and held one purpose. Confining a prisoner to a holding zone so that an auror could do a pat down, it also served to send notice to the Head of the DMLE in the case of a sever arrest such as in his case.

"Auror Tonks arriving with wanted fugitive Sirius Back. Requesting Amelia Bone to holding cell black B – 12. Tonks announced and with great speed a little purple paper airplane zoomed out of a hidden compartment, and left to inform the Head of the DMLE of their arrival.

"That's new, in my day we had owls," he remarked with amusement.

"They're called Interdepartmental memos, its easier and cleaner than sending owls, apparently droppings all over the desks used to be terrible." Tonks grumbled while Sirius gave a hum of agreement.

"That it was, and the floor. Merlin it was disgusting." He grumbled before allowing Tonks to pat him down, removing the single wand he held on his persona. "I remember once, James was just sitting at his desk when an owl flew by and plop, right on his head. Rather ambarrasing for Prongs yet highly amusing for the rest of us, I still remember James' face."

Smiling softly at the story, Tonks tried her best to remain indifferent yet it was hard. It wasn't often Sirius spoke about the past, especially about James Potter – the man he considered his brother.

"You should tell Téa about that one when she wakes up," she whispered into his ear before leading him from the apparition room and into the holding cells of the Ministry.

Walking a little ways, they finally arrived at Sell-Block B and Tonks brought him to cell 12 where she unhooked his binds and allowed him to step into his sell. Doing as told, Tonks stepped away and allowed the door to shut and lock into place. The moment it did, Sirius turned to face her, rubbing his wrist as he did so.

"Hope she doesn't bring the blustering baboon with her," he grunted before the sound of heels meeting the sleek tiled floor of the Ministry rang through the cells.

Leaning against the bar, Sirius turned his attention from Tonks to the right. Instantly he spotted the imposing figure of Amelia Bones walking purposely towards them. She was flanked on either side by two aurors, one he instantly recognized as Kingsley Shackelbolt yet the other he did not recognize. Unfortunately behind them was indeed Cornellius Fudge.

"Wonderful, she brings the pompous idiot with her," he grumbled earning a soft snort from his younger cousin.

As the group finally arrived, Sirius ' gaze instantly took in the one auror he did not recognize. He was around Kingsley's age, looked to be very capable and self-assured. Actually he was a rather tough-looking wizard with very short wiry grey hair. Sirius could tell he was a rather capable Auror, especially if he was with Fudge and Amelia.

Turning his gaze from the unknown auror he bi-passed Fudge and allowed himself to set his eyes on Amelia Bones. She looked as impressive and intimidating as ever. Her red hair was down, her eyes showing no emotions, as was usual when she saw him. She was dressed impeccably, as usual, in a set of black dress pants, a green blouse and over that a warm grey outer robe. She looked every bit the Head of Law Enforcement and Sirius knew, a very capable auror.

"Great Merlin, Sirius Black," Fudge whispered earning a sneer from the wanted fugitive.

"No I'm Orion Black," He grumbled earning a disapproving gaze from Amelia.

"He was read his rights?" The woman questioned Tonks earning a firm nod as the response. "We shall summon the wizengamot at once then, as stated Minister, Black is to receive a swift and lawful trial without delay."

"Yes – yes of course Amelia," Fudge agreed yet he was still staring at Sirius as though he couldn't believe that the man had actually been aprehended or even surrendered. With everything they had done to find the man and failed it was simply unbelievable. "

"Kingsley, Tonks remain on guard, you are both responsible for him till the trial. You will also bring him to the courtroom upon request." Amelia Ordered earning nods of agreement from both aurors while Kingsley hurried to take his post. "Tonks you will be called to explain the situation of arrest to the court,"

"Of course ma'am,"

"I'm requesting a vow of Magic," Sirius grunted making everybody still in surprise. "Amelia Bones will be the only one to ask the questions, although I do have a specific list that must be asked before anything else."

"Now see here Black you are a convict –" The unnamed auror began yet Amelia raised her hand to silence him while Sirius gave him a glare.

"I'm also the Lord of the Black Family," he announced while revealing his hand to the room showing off the Black family Signet ring. "Even if I was not the Lord I would still be considered Heir to the Black family and so I have the right to request certain – terms for the trial."

"He is correct Auror Dawlish, you will list off the questions you wish to ask and one of your guards will write them down before handing them to me before trial. A Vow of Magic will be allowed as well," Amelia announced while Fudge looked as though he just about swallowed a lemon.

The Vow of Magic was much more significant than others realized. The vow made it so that the person who took the vow could not lie when questioned. It was preferable to use over Veritasirum because it was binding and if the person lied their magic would see fit as to punish the vowed. That meant that the Vow was never used by those who were actually guilty, or almost never, only the foolish did so. Sirius was no fool though, he knew that the vow would push all doubt of the truth from the wizengamots minds and reveal to them that he was indeed innocent.

"Well then, we must prepare ourselves for your trial Lord Black," Amelia announced before she turned and left, taking Fudge and Auror Dawlish with her. This left Sirius alone with Kingsley and Tonks.

"So – anybody have cards we can play." Sirius joked earning amused gazes from both Aurors.

…

Taking her seat as speaker of the court, Amelia took note of that day's chosen scribe, Percy Weasley. He was already prepared for the trial, quills, parchment, and ink all placed strategically around his work place. It was clear he had done this before hand.

Turning her attention to the rest, she saw many members of the Wizengamot present. One such person was in fact the Lord Nott. He looked quite different than before, and was dressed in his family colours, navy blue with grey trim. It had been a long time since he had been seen sporting his family colours to the wizengamot, chosen most times to wear black and this brought a positive light to the situation.

As the man took his seat in the Nott Chair stationed at the top level he spotted her gaze and gave a nod of greeting. Returning the greeting she moved her gaze from him and returned to observing the rooms occupants and the room itself.

The Wizengamot Chamber was perfectly decorated to suit its needs, if a little grandeur added to it. The main floor was decorated with stunning white marble that held black and gold vining. The main floor was allocated to the accused and the accused lawyer. From there was the first level of the wizengamot. The first level held the Honored Houses and normally, witnesses along with Ministry workers and the court scribe. They sat on wooden benches. The next level was where the Noble Families sat. They sat in wooden chairs of simple design, even if each chair held the crest of the family engraved onto them. The final level was where the Noble and Most Ancient Families sat. Their seats were done in wood as well yet were much more elegant and comfortable. Each back was high and engraved at the top were the crest of each family.

As speaker of the court, and as sitting advocate for the Bones Family until her niece, Susan, could take her place as Lady Bones, she sat in the second level.

The first level was already filled with its expected occupants, only one member of the wizengamot was present, Yaxley. Other occupants included Dumbledore, to her surprise Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, not to mention Remus Lupin.

The second level held more members of the Wizengamot. The Head of the Macmillan family, the Parkinson Family, and the Bulstrode Family were all seats.

Finally the top level was the most filled. The Head of the Abbott Family, the Greengrass Family, the Longbottom Family, the Nott Family, the Travers Family and the Burke Family, yet the top level held many seats that had not been occupied in a great deal of time.

The last time the Potter family seat and the Black family seat had been occupied it had been when Charles Potter and Orion Black had been alive, fathers to Sirius Black and James Potter they were both well influenced men until their deaths. Then there were the Prewett Family, the last known seated had been Albert Prewett, and he had only had one child who was alive, Molly Prewett now known as Molly Weasley. Nobody knew who the rightful heir to the family was. Then came the Peverell Family, that family had disappeared many years ago, so long ago that the seat was close to being sealed. When that would be done a new Ancient and Noble house would rise, and the closes ones to that title were the Lestrange family, or at least it was. With the last of the Lestranges being convicted the next in line went to the Bones Family.

"What are you thinking about Amelia," Came a soft voice from her left that had her turning to find Arabelle Rowle sitting beside her.

"The amount of seats that are empty," she answered earning a nod of understanding from the woman.

"It is a sad sight to see, but perhaps one seat will be filled soon enough if Mister Black proves to be innocent. I was always weary of his conviction. He and James Potter were like twin brothers." Arabelle remarked before sending her a sideways glance. "Would you reconsider -" "What is there to reconsider Arabelle, what happened is what happened and we both have made choices. Choices that cannot be taken back as we are two different people from before," Amelia declared quickly knowing exactly where the older woman was going.

"Now Amelia, never say never, look where that has landed us today." Arrabelle remarked before the last members took their seat. It was time to begin this trial, the sooner it was done the better it would be.

"Who called Rita Skeeter to this trial?" Arrabelle questioned and instantly Amelia turned her gaze towards the first level were Rita Skeeter was indeed present.

"Joyful," she grumbled before the doors to the courtroom were opened taking everybody's attention.

Still dressed in the clothing he had been arrested in, Sirius Black looked very calm considering the situation. Of course it was to be expected considering he had almost completely arranged this entire event. He had, after all surrendered himself to Auror Tonks.

Within moments of entering the hall, the man was seated in the centre of the court, yet the shackles that normally rose to wrap themselves around convicts did not rise, remaining limp on the floor.

"Intriguing," Arabella murmured yet Amelia did not pay her attention as she rose to her feet.

"Has the prisoner given his questions?" She asked comely earning a nod from Kingsley before he made his way over and handed a piece of parchment to Percy Weasley who swiftly handed it to her.

Gazing down at the question list, Amelia read them over before giving a nod. All the questions were reasonable as well as important to ask, most of them she was going to ask at some point during the trial. Others had been to tricky to ask considering she would have to explain how she knew why to ask certain questions, this in fact, gave her a loop-whole.

"Sirius Black, you have requested the Vow of Magic in the place of Veritasirum, are you ready to take that vow?" She questioned taking many people by shock.

"I am," he answered, making sure to look her in the eye and nowhere else even as he rose to his feet. "I Sirius Orion Black here by state on my magic that, for the period of this trial alone – until I speak the word HAT – that I will speak nothing but the truth unless I am unable to do so because of a previous or current vow, or other binding obligations." He recited perfectly and it wasn't long before the vow took its physical appearance as a soft glow of magic surrounded Sirius before it melted into his skin.

"Repeated word for word the vow his father once spoke," Arrabelle murmured from behind her. "Smart lad, gives him loop-wholes."

"Now that the vow has been spoke, let us begin with the questioning, as you all know as the Speaker of the house I will be the only one to question the convict if there is a question that you deem necessary to ask at the end then direct it towards my person and I will ask the question. Reporters are to remain silent, if you do not the Wizengamot holds the right to remove you from its premises understood," Amelia declared while sending a firm glare towards the reporters.

"Now then, the first questions we will start with are the ones you wish for me to ask before my own. We will begin with the first question you wanted asked." She continued while gazing down at the parchment. "Are you, Sirius Orion Black, a Death Eater or are in any form associated with Voldemort?"

"I am not a Death Eater," Sirius began and although many moved to object Amelia made sure to raise her hand knowing the man was not done. "As for association, my family, the Black's were well known supporters of Voldemort. In fact my own brother became a Death Eater in his youth but I never held the same views as Voldemort and would never follow the man who calls himself such."

"Request of Proff!" Somebody shouted from the third level.

"Lord Black please lift your sleeves and show your forearms." Amelia ordered and without hesitation, Sirius did as told revealing unblemished arms. "I will also remind the wizengamot that Lord Black is under a Vow of Magic."

This made many silent, and with satisfaction, Amelia continued with the next question. "Lord Black, it was thought that you were the Secret Keeper for James Potter and Lily Potter née Evans, but no concrete prof was ever given, could you explain the events going up to the casting of Fidelius Charm."

Looking up from the parchment, she looked at Sirius who was still staring at her. He hadn't removed his gaze from her once since entering the courtroom. For a moment, he did not speak until finally he sat back in his chair and rested against the back. His expression which had been neutral had turned to a more pained expression.

"We knew that James and Lily were big targets on Voldemort's list. With a baby they wanted to be safer and so when Voldemort truly started to hunt them they chose to go under the Fidelius Charm." Sirius began before taking a deep breath. "Sirius and Lily spoke with me about it, as Téa's godfather they wanted me to be Secret Keeper."

Here many began to murmur amoungst themselves yet Sirius did not pay them any attention and continued.

"I – foolishly – convinced them to pick another person. I thought that people would automatically assume I was Secret Keeper. Because of me, they chose to go with the most unexpected choice, Peter Pettigrew. What we didn't know was that Pettigrew had betrayed us. He betrayed James and Lily by giving up their locations to his master, Voldemort."

"Yet when you were arrested you kept muttering that it was your fault. People automatically assumed that you were speaking of James and Lily's deaths." Amelia remarked earning a dark chuckle from the man, a chuckle that was void of any humor.

"Because it was, if I had not convinced James to go with Pettigrew they would have still been alive. Téa would still have her parents." Sirius sighed and for the first time, pulling his gaze from Amelia.

For a moment nobody spoke, it was clear to them all that the man held great grief over the past.

"What happened on November first, 1981?" She pushed on knowing that the man would not want to pounder the thoughts for very long. Thankfully it seemed to work a little.

"Halloween 1981 I felt the wards around Godric Hallow fall and knew that something was wrong. Without waiting I went straight there and found the building destroyed. The first person I fell upon was James, he had tried to give Lily and Téa enough time to escape. When I moved up the stairs I found Lily in the nursery with Téa crying in her crib. Fire had already began in the house and so I hurried to grab Téa. I needed to get her out of the house. When I did I was met by Hagrid who had been sent to the scene as Dumbledore had also been made aware of the wards falling. He was told to bring any survivors to Dumbledore." Sirius announced while sending a look to the aged Headmaster who looked quite sad. "I knew I had to check on Pettigrew and so I regrettably handed Téa over to Hagrid. I should never have done it, I should have brought her to Dumbledore myself but my anger had taken over."

Amelia knew how the man felt, when her brother and his wife had been killed she had wanted to leave her niece with the house elves and go hunt the bastards down. Her anger had been so great she had done it until she had arrived home to find her little niece crying and a house elf frantically trying to calm her down. Her niece was her only family and she had foolishly gone to satisfy her anger rather than remaining behind to look after the poor babe.

"I gave Hagrid my motorbike and before long I was tracking Pettigrew down. I found him on November first and confronted him my anger over coming my common sense. The little rat had a plan though and it worked. He caused a huge scene, shouting about how could I betray James and Lily before he blew the damn street up. In the chaos, he transformed into a rat and escaped into the sewer only cutting off a finger so that it could be found. When Aurors arrived I was the only one there and everything finally caught up with me." Sirius concluded making Amelia sign yet just then Arrabelle handed her a question and with a pointed look from the older woman, she gazed down at the question and drew a sigh. It would be for the best to ask this question before continuing.

"You said Pettigrew transformed into a rat what do you mean by this?" She asked earning a chuckle from Sirius.

"When we were at Hogwarts, we learned that our roommate, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf." Sirius admitted knowing that the wizengamot knew about Remus' condition. "We wanted to make the transformation less painful for him and so we did research. We learned that werewolves were calmer when the in the presence of other animals and so we learned to become animagus'." Sirius informed them making many gasp in shock. "James, Pettigrew and myself were able to complete the transformation in our fifth year."

This had everybody instantly in outrage. To know that three teenage wizards had completely the animagus transformation unsupervised and without registering their form with the Ministry was unbelievable not to mention foolish.

"Pettigrew was a rat animagus, fitting considering everything. James was a stag and I was a large black dog." Sirius continued earning a nod from Amelia.

"When you escaped from Azkaban, how did you do so?" Amelia questioned finally arriving on some of her questions.

"It was easy, or at least to me it was. With nobody knowing about my animagus form I was able to stay sane by transforming into my dog form. Dementors affect humans they do not affect animals and so when in my dog form I was not affected by the Dementors like others. After twelve years in Azkaban, I was thin enough in my dog form that I was able to slip through the bars and I swam to shore in my dog form. I'm still not sure how but all I could think about was that the person I wanted to protect the most was a Hogwarts and in danger." Sirius concluded.

"What do you mean in the most danger, Hogwarts is considered one of the safest places in England," Amelia questioned curiously.

"During Minister Fudge's visit I was able to get a hold of the paper and spotted that days article. The Weasley Family had won a large prize and a picture of them was on the front page. In that picture was a rat, a very familiar rat that was missing a single toe. Pettigrew had cut off a finger during his escape. To know that the damn rat was so close to my goddaughter made me jump into action. I could not have the rat that close to her because she would be in terrible danger." Sirius explained before taking a deep breath. "I might not have gotten the chance to raise my goddaughter as James wished but if she was in danger, I was going to protect her at all costs even if it meant escaping from Azkaban."

…

Entering Grimmauld Place, Sirius felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He was free. After a lengthy trial, the Wizengamot found him innocent of all crimes he had been accused of. For the small crime of being an unregistered animagus it would be considered time served and even then the thing was only a small fine. He would be reimbursed for everything, and a public apology would be given. The news was set to be given to the public the next day.

Going up to his goddaughter's room, he walked in and found Molly just placing a brand new set of sheets on the bed.

"Sirius dear, I had Bill move her into your room while I change the bed," Molly informed him. "Congratulations dear, on winning your trial."

"Thank you," he grunted before moving towards his bedroom. Walking in he found Téa laying on his bed, Bill sitting on a chair. When he walked in the man looked up and gave him a warm smile.

"How is she?" He asked hopefully.

"She's about the same, no changes noticed. Glad you came back so soon though. Mum's just changing the bedding and I'll move her back." Bill remarked before standing. "Just call when you want me to move her back,"

With that the young Curse Breaker left the room leaving Sirius to sit in the same seat he had been occupying. Resting his head back he took a deep breath before allowing himself to rest. He tried not to show it but the trial had taken a lot out of him.

"I'm free kiddo, I'm free."


	16. Chapter sixteen

_**Chapter sixteen**_

 _ **Can you have manners while spying?**_

 _ **…**_

* * *

 _ **…**_

Nymphadora Tonks hated two things; one she hated her first name. Really what was her mother thinking naming her Nymphadora? All the teasing she had received because of her name, all because her mother wanted her to have a small part of the Black Family to carry around with her. Like that cared for the bigoted idiots, the only Black who even liked her was Sirius.

The second thing she hated teens in the grip of puberty. Just walking down the halls of Hogwarts, she was already gaining hundreds of gazes from students. Sure, she probably deserved it for what she was wearing but hell it was her style and really, she didn't technically have to wear a uniform as an Auror. That meant that walking through the halls of Hogwarts, she was wearing one of her normal outfits, black leather pants, a tight fitting pink weird sisters t-shirt, a pair of knee-high boots and a long sleeved gray leather jacket. Her hair was its normal vibrant bubble-gum pink, her favourite color for her hair.

"Tonks!" Came a shout which made her turn to find Ginny Weasley grinning at her only a few feet away. "What you doing here?"

"Official Auror business, how are you holding up Ginny?" She asked knowing the gift the girl received only a short time ago. She wasn't technically sure why it had been done, and she was certain Molly didn't know, but many of them knew that Téaleon's Firebolt had been sent to the girl with Sirius' blessing.

"Things a bit tense around here with many people being bigoted idiots but things are going fairly well. Quidditch takes up a lot of time but its great." The red headed girl answered. "Well I'll let you get back to your 'official Auror business,'" She remarked while doing quotation marks in the air. "and head off to the library. Maybe you'll have a chance to say bye before you leave."

"I'll do my best," she laughed before the young Gryffindor headed off allowing her to continue on her way towards the Headmasters office.

Arriving at the statue guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office, she gave the correct password before heading up the spiral staircase. Arriving at the top she was about to give a soft knock at the door when he swung open.

"Old coot always knows when somebody's going to knock." She mumbled under her breath before stepping into the Headmaster's office.

Almost instantly, she felt a sense of foreboding. The only reason she ever entered the office when she had been a student was for punishment or a good telling off. It had never been for a good reason.

"Ah Auror Tonks, welcome, welcome do come in." The Headmaster greeted causing her to look towards the man's desk to find him seated behind it. "Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"Sure," she chirped before bounding over and accepting one of the sour treats offered by the aged Headmaster.

Placing it in her mouth, she hummed in happiness before settling down in a chair. She knew why she had been sent to Hogwarts. Madam Bones had wanted her to do a job for the Ministry, most specifically for the Department of Magical Education. She was the only person qualified to do it considering her unique abilities.

She was to document everything she could about each Professor using the documentation given to her by the Department then deliver it all. To gather the information, she would have to take the place of a student or students. The question was who was she going to be impersonating.

"Now, I understand that Amelia has spoken to you about your mission correct?" The Headmaster began.

"Yes sir, I have all the documentation given to me by the Department of Magical Education." She answered earning a nod from the man.

"Chambers have been set up for your use also, I have spoken with several different students and gained their permission. You will be impersonating for different students; you are familiar with all of them although one will be a very challenging impersonation." The Headmaster began and for the first time Tonks wondered just who she would have to impersonate. Yet it seemed like she had nothing to worry about, thankfully. "Miss Hermione Granger, Mister Ronald Weasley, Miss Hannah Abbott and Miss Susan Bones have all agreed to be impersonated by yourself for this investigation. You are familiar with all three, and will be meeting with them this evening. All together the three of them take up every class we give and a schedule has been made so that neither of you gets confused. It would not do well if the same student arrived at the same class."

"Sounds perfect, how will we be explaining my presences here at Hogwarts. Surely news has spread considering I was seen walking the halls towards your office." Tonks remarked.

"You are here, by order of Amelia Bones, to help organize protective measures for trips to Hogsmeade. You will be dealing with myself alone." He answered earning a nod from the young auror. "Now then, House elves have already brought your possessions to your chambers, I think it would be appropriate to lead you to them so that you may settle yourself in before meeting the students at dinner."

"Sounds perfect," Tonks agreed and as the aged Headmaster stood she hurried to follow. "When we'll I'll be meeting the four?"

"After dinner, already messages have been sent, requesting their presence in my office. They are all Prefects, it would be nothing that I have not done in the past. Now, I think it would be best if I lead you to your chambers. You can settle in before dinner is to begin." The Headmaster advised earning a nod of agreement from the young Auror.

Moving towards the office door it seemed to realize that they wished out as it opened, yet the moment it did it revealed the unmistakable form of Dolores Umbridge. Clearly, the woman was just about to knock at the door as her hand was raised in a knocking motion, which was rather amusing considering the situation.

"Ah Dolores, to what do I owe this visit?" Questioned the headmaster, his once twinkling blue eyes dimming only slightly at the sight of the woman.

"I was informed that a young Auror had arrived at Hogwarts, I was simply wishing to know why one would leave their post at the Ministry to meet you the Headmaster of Hogwarts." The woman questioned, her high pitched voice instantly grating on Tonks' nerves.

"I'm here on orders of the Minister – Professor Umbridge," Tonks remarked, holding back the disdain that wanted to make its presence known. "I'm here to speak to the Headmaster about how to protect the students of Hogwarts during their trips to Hogsmeade."

"And why - pray tell - would the students need protection to go to Hogsmeade, I am unaware of any threats towards them. Our world is perfectly at peace, with nothing to worry over. We should not worry the students and they should not be forced to think themselves in danger." The woman remarked, her voice still overly sweet sounding that it gave Tonks cavities just hearing it.

"The Ministry sent me to help in the defence of students," Tonks repeated calmly. "If you wish to oppose the Ministry or inform the Minister as to how to perform his job, be my guest, I would not want to be there when you do. Now, Headmaster, I would enjoy setting myself up in the accommodations you have graciously offered."

"Indeed, Auror Tonks, excuse us Dolores, if you have any objections on the matter. I am sure Cornelius would hear from you." The Headmaster warned.

"Auror Tonks, your mother is Andromeda Black is she not?" Dolores questioned, yet the way in which she through the question had Tonks turning on her heel shoulders tensing.

"My mother is Andromeda Tonks née Black. She is proud of her heritage yet even prouder of whom she married. I also do not see where this subject is any of your concern." She started defending her mother.

"Your mother was first cousins with Sirius Black, who could say that you would not be aligned with the escaped convict. I do not see where you would be the correct choice in defending the students. Also, a good majority of the Black Family was considered to side with the Dark Lord during the war all those years ago." Dolores remarked clearly knowing that she was getting under her skin.

"I was placed in this position by Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The Minister for Magic signed off on this placement. I was also personally trained by Alastor Mad-Eye Moody. My mother never once visited Sirius Black while he was incarcerated in Azkaban. I might have Black blood in me but I was born and raised a Tonks Madam Umbridge. The next time you feel like accusing an Auror of treason, please do have proof." She snarled before a smirk covered her lips. "Also, if you haven't read the Daily Prophet or heard about it, I would think you would find it prudent to do so. As of yesterday, Sirius Black was pardoned of all crimes he was accused off and is considered a free and innocent man, oh and you would do well to call him Lord Black."

With that, she spun on her heel and marched down the steps quite pleased with the look on the old toads face.

"As I have stated before Dolores, if you have reasons to doubt Cornelius' orders, I am sure he will welcome you into his office. For now, I will not have you accuse Auror Tonks of anything unless proof is given." Dumbledore announced eyes devoid of any twinkle as he gazed at the woman over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. "Good day Dolores."

With that, he turned from the woman and followed after the young Auror leaving his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor behind.

...

As the light cleared and téa was able to see again the sight she was met by was a very odd and contrasting. The room she now found herself in was beyond anything she had ever seen. The room was actually a ballroom. The ceiling was at least 20' into the air with grand chandeliers hanging from magnificently detailed medallion. There were grand windows with velvet drapes that brought your eye down to the beautiful marble floors.

The odd and contrasting part came at the sight of the woman who was perched delicately on a large elegant thrown. She was beautiful with long flowing silver hair air – almost like Téa's own hair – and deep blue eyes. Dressed in an elegant blue gown that was old Victorian in style yet also somewhat revealing she was the complete contrast to the room.

"Welcome to Bordeau Chateau" The woman greeted before rising from her chair and stepping down from the raised up podium it was placed upon. "I supposed I'm expected to fix your rudeness and – other flaws. How I'm supposed to do so with you dressed in such a manner I am unaware?" The woman continued a frown covering her fair features.

"Well – I suppose I will have to work with what I have." She sighed before looking her up and down. "At least you know how to walk in heels without tripping over your own two feet."

"I'm sorry but you are?" Téa finally asked anger still boiling under the surface from the fact that she had just missed out on a chance to learn about an important part of Voldemort's powers or history.

"Of course, you do not recognize me, humans do not associate well with my sort," The woman remarked and for a moment, Téa felt her heart skip a beat. When the woman revealed pointed fangs, her eyes grew wider before she calmed herself.

"I have never met a vampire before," Téa remarked before catching herself "- not in a normal context, I duelled a few in one of the first tasks I had to complete, but of course, this isn't a normal context either."

"I am Anoria Varden," the woman finally introduced yet she did not extend her hand or offer any other information.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Téaleon Potter." This introduction seemed to earn a small nod of approval from the woman.

"Good – good, your introductions are fairly well, now I suppose we should get to work. I will be teaching you, Proper etiquette as well as manners." Anoria announced before walking around her, a calculative gaze filling her eyes. "You are a witch are you not?"

"Yes," Téa answered confused by this line of questioning. "Good you can temporarily transfigure your current garments into a proper gown. Please do so,"

"Why can't I learn wearing this stuff?" She questioned confused earning a long sigh from the woman.

"Good lord child, if I am to teach you everything I am to teach you then you will do as I say. Do not argue with your elders or those who are teaching you." The woman told her briskly before waving her hand. "Now change your attire."

Grumbling under her voice, Téa gazed down at her attire trying to think of what the woman before her wanted her to wear. She wasn't one for dresses, after all, they were impractical and really just a pain in her ass. The only time she had ever worn one was when she had gone to the Yule Ball.

Taking a deep breath, she waved her hand over herself picture a dress she had tried during the summer before her fourth year. Within a moment, her attire changed from its armor to a flowing mint colored gown with off the shoulder sleeves. The dress was simple and would do for her current lessons – she hoped.

Turning her gaze back to her new teacher the woman was gazing at her for a moment before she gave a nod of approval and turned away.

"During these lessons, you will speak appropriately. The words Yeah and Nah are to be eliminated from your vocabulary. You will respond by Yes, or no, yes please, no, thank you, so on." Anoria announced before turning back to her a frown in place. "Am I understood?"

Biting her tongue Téa knew that the woman was testing her. For some reason, she had a feeling that this teacher would be one of her least favorite.

"Yes, I understood." She finally answered, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.

"Then follow me, the start of your lessons are to begin in a different room." With that, the vampire swept from the room, the train of her dress trailing behind her as she walked with her head held high.

Following behind the woman her thoughts drifted in and out. She did not understand why she was here, being taught etiquette and manners when her survival against Voldemort was more important than any of that. How could she be expected to learn manners, or any of this when she needed to learn as much as she could for that outcome?

"What is your title?" Anoria the Vampire questioned pulling her from her thoughts.

"W – Pardon?" She asked startled by the questioned and a bit confused.

"What is your title? You are from a noble family; it would be one of the only reasons you were brought to me instead of another etiquette instructor. I must know what is expected of you before I can fully teach you what you must know." Anoria explained and for a moment, Téa looked down at her feet.

Did she have a title? Well according to her ancestor she was – Heiress to an Ancient and Noble family, they went by –

"Heiress of the Potter or is it Peverell or Lefay? Oh bloody hell I don't know." She grumbled still more than a little confused by just what or who her family was.

"Firstly, you will not swear in my presence or at any other time, it is not lady like. Secondly –" Here, Anoria turned to stare at her a calculating gaze in her eyes. "Potter – Peverell – Lefay, three very – different families, how is it you can claim to be part of all three?"

"Apparently, the Potters are the Peverells yet changed their name and that the Peverells were the Lefays yet also changed their name." Téa answered earning a nod from the woman before she gave her a calculating gaze. "We will go with current names at the very least; you are the Heiress of the Most Ancient and Noble Potter family. A respectable title, and one you will need learn plenty for. The Potter family was well known to have good relations with – all types of creatures, not simply wizards." Anoria remarked before turning back and continuing to walk.

Finally, they arrived in a new room; this one was just as grand as the ballroom yet clearly a formal dining room. A full table had been set, even if it was only for two. It looked rather out of place in the grand dining room.

"It is not the original table to the room but I thought we should start small. Now then, traditional etiquette dictates that woman sit with an erect posture and both legs together, keeping the skirt's hem low and undergarments out of sight. Now seeing as you are dressed in a long gown, that will not be an issue." Anoria announced while walking towards the table and taking a seat, looking the perfect picture of elegance. "There are various ways of crossing one's legs, appropriate for formal occasions, which effectively prevent wardrobe malfunctions. I will talk you through it all."

Giving a nod, Téa moved towards the table, and as she stood before her chair looked at the vampire. "This is the first method, sitting with a traditional posture. Stand in front of your seat as close as you can. By beginning close to the chair, you will have less work to do and are much less likely to expose yourself or miss your mark and fall."

"Now at most formal functions, it is expected for a gentleman to help you be seated. He will pull out your chair, wait for you to stand in front of it and then prod the chair forward to touch the back of your legs. Your escort or a waiter, will at times do this or another man seated nearby."

Doing her best to follow the orders, given, Téa moved as close to her chair as possible.

"Now put your knees together, make sure both your knees and most of your legs are lined up and squeezed next to each other. One leg should not be in front of the other." With that new piece of information given, Téa moved to position herself. Filling rather foolish she tried not to allow a blush to cover her cheeks. "By sitting down with your legs together, you will keep your undergarments from showing, no matter how short your skirt may be. Now you will easy down gently, no do not bend forward, make sure you to keep your torso straight. Yes just like that. Now knees together, sit down smoothly be bending your knees. Perfect, well done." Anoria complimented this time her voice filled with a tinge of approval.

"Now your skirt or dress may have rumpled while you sat down. Sitting will also have raised its hemline, if you don't want your skirt looking rumpled or shorter than it actually is, smooth it down gently with your hands. Good now there are two main options for you to place your feet. One is flat on the ground and the other is crossed at the ankles. If you cross them, be sure to do so with your knees still together. There should be no space between your ankles."

"I didn't think there were so many steps to a proper way of sitting," Téa remarked yet Anoria did not deem the statement be answered and continued with her explanation.

…

Leaving her chambers, her really nice chambers, Tonks tried her best to not seem nervous. She had changed from her attire of the day, after all, she was going to be presenting a living figure to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for students. She could at least give a better image to the department, not just one of t-shirts and normal attire. That's why she was dressed, still in her leather pants, yet instead of her weird sister's t-shirt, she wore a long-sleeved teal shirt and over that a dark purple combat robe she normally wore during missions. Her hair was had been turned to purple while she still wore her knee-high boots.

Now as she walked towards the Great Hall she felt her nerves grow. She had been cooped up in her chambers all day, avoiding seeing as many students as possible yet she was beginning to wonder if that was for the best considering she would have to face them tonight at dinner.

"How the bloody hell did Remus do it?" She muttered under her breath before finally arriving in the Great Hall.

Thankfully, not many students had arrived yet. Those who did were curiously staring at her, with the exception of two students.

"Tonks!" Hermione exclaimed clearly happy to see her which warmed the young aurors heart.

"Hey Tonks," Ron greeted with a soft smile that had her smiling back.

"Hey you two, how are you doing?" She asked earning reassuring smiles in return.

"Better, we're doing better, we'll talk later right? I mean you're here for a while," Hermione remarked yet before Tonks could answer a soft hem, hem cut her off.

"Miss Granger, Auror Tonks is here on official Ministry business. You are not to bother her during this time. After all, she is not here for fun." The most annoying voice of Dolores Umbridge declared as she stepped through the doors.

"Sure Hermione, we can talk later, maybe I can give you guys some advice for your Defense against the Dark Arts O.W.L." She joked while giving them winks, which made both Prefects smirk. "I better head up to the staff table, I can't tell you how weird that's going to be."

"Téa felt odd last year when the Champions were forced to sit up there during the Yule Ball." Ron chuckled while Hermione laugh softly. "Have fun, hope you get put beside a fun teacher."

With that, the two Gryffindor Prefects returned to Gryffindor and Tonks was left wondering how the duo was taking Téaleons situation. Both were rather unmoved about the entire affair, which was odd because they were her two best friends. Riding her head of those thoughts she made her way to the staff table and was swiftly greeted by her old Head of House, Pomona Sprout.

"Well, well Nymphadora Tonks. You are looking very well, although really dear purple?" the woman asked making Tonks chuckle before she allowed the woman to greet her with a friendly hug.

"I prefer pink to be quite honest Professor but it clashed with my attire, so I went with purple." She announced earning a soft laugh from the Herbologist before she motioned for her to sit beside her.

"And how are you doing, I hear you're an auror now, trained under Mad-Eye Moody of all people." Professor Sprout exclaimed clearly pleased by her career.

"I'm doing well Professor, I enjoy my job, and things are going much better. I'm actually here on official business. I'll be aiding the Headmaster with protection involving students and staff alike during their Hogsmeade visits." She explained earning a proud smile from the Head of Hufflepuff.

"How wonderful, you were always so good with Defense, I'm positive the students will be much safer with you helping. After the attack on Azkaban, my Puffs haven't felt the safest." Professor Sprout admitted earning a nod of understanding from Tonks

"Its grave news of the attack, and I will admit it wasn't a situation I was happy to be in. That people felt confident enough to attack our prison meant something, I'm glad Madam Bones is taking things very seriously in this regard." Tonks admitted, before looking towards Hufflepuff, the student did look a little more worried than normal.

"If you want Professor I can schedule a time to speak with them. They can ask me all sorts of questions about my job, some I might be able to answer others I might not be but it might give them some – settling." She offered earning a grateful look.

"As long as you don't overwhelm yourself, you have plenty of work already ahead of you," Sprout assured her before they both fell silent as the Headmaster stood.

Instantly the students fell silent and Tonks could feel many eyes gazing at her. Turning her gaze from her Head of House she looked out onto the Great Hall. It was odd, seeing the Great Hall from this position at the Head Table. She had only ever seen it from her place at Hufflepuff table.

"Tonight we welcome a new member to Hogwarts, she is here to aid in the defence of you, the students. Together we shall be forming better defences for you for your trips to Hogsmeade. Please aid me in welcome Auror Nymphadora Tonks!" The Headmaster announced before motioning towards her.

Rising from her chair she gave a small bow, grateful towards the Weasleys, Hermione and even some Hufflepuffs who cheered her on.

"I hope that you will welcome her warmly and treat her with the respect she so deserves, Auror Tonks graduated top five of her Auror Class." Dumbledore continued making Tonks blush, she hadn't thought the man would say that.

Swiftly sitting down she tried not to make it look like her blush affected her much. Thankfully, Dumbledore said a few more things before dinner began and Tonks was able to swiftly dig into her food, although with composure considering her mother would have berated her for anything less.

Making polite conversation with those around her wasn't hard considering she was seated beside Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick who both seemed very happy to speak to her. Yet by the end of the meal, she was happy to excuse herself and make her way to the Headmasters office for the meeting. When she arrived, the Headmaster was already present and it wasn't long before they were joined by Hermione, Ron, Hannah, and Susan.

Author note:

Sorry for the late update people, I'm sick. I hate colds but that means I need my rest and with work well anyway. I just thought people might like a little surprise for a Monday workday.


	17. Chapter seventeen

**_Chapter Seventeen_**

 ** _The horrors of a teenage body_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

 ** _..._**

"You want me to what!" Téa shouted, completely taken aback by the woman statement.

"Yes Miss Potter I do, in proper society, it will be expected of you to greet any person above your stature with a curtsy, even those in your stature or at formal occasions. You will be the Lady of your family; you must appear poised and elegant. We have covered table manners, and etiquette, now we must cover your walk, your curtsy and any other subject I so wish. I am your teacher and I demand the respect that I am deserved." Anoria sniffed, yet the look in her eyes was still the distaste that it had been since Téa had arrived in this woman's classroom.

It was the same look of distaste her Potion Professor looked at her with every time they spoke or were in the same room. This woman detested her yet she did not understand why. She had never met this woman, she had never even heard of her in her life until this point. What could she have possibly done to earn the distaste she was showing her? Or had it been a member of the Potter family who had been responsible.

"Did one of my ancestors insult you? Is that why you seem to detest me so? Every time you look at me that is all I see in your eyes. I know you don't have to like me to teach me. Morgana knows that but at least give me the reason why you seem to hate me so much." Téa whispered, surprising the woman who seemed taken aback by her question.

"I – I do not hate you as a person Miss Potter. You seem like a – lovely – person. I simply hate all wizards as a whole." Anoria sighed, suddenly looking older.

"Well news flash lady, I'm not a wizard, I'm a witch. Different body parts," Téa laughed, a small tone of teasing to her voice.

"I know that!" Anoria snapped. "Yet you are made of the same thing, wizard, which they are all the same. You are all the same. You are all self-centered, egotistic cowards!"

"Wow! That's plenty of hate in that sentenced," Téa remarked while taking a step back. "I mean not all of us are that way. What experience do you have with us that gave you the impression that we were all like that?"

"Simple, a wizard entered my home during the day, the day after the mating season. Wilding a knife, he killed me as I slept and rested. I was defenseless; I was unable to fight back. He knew that." She snapped before turning away from Téa and looking up at the ceiling. "I have met plenty of wizards who were just as cowardly as he."

"Not all wizards or witches are like that you know, that's like saying that all Vampires are evil, bloodsucking, and unthinking beasts. You seem perfectly well balanced to me and you haven't tried to kill me yet so for me that proves that you are not all the same. You must have met some wizards or witches that were kind, brave and who weren't like the others you met?"

"Not all vampires are beasts Miss Potter –" "Just like not all wizards are cowards, do you see my point? You judge others before you meet them. I know – I know that the man who killed you was a coward. I believe that trust me I do, those who kill the defenseless are cowards but you cannot group all of the same people in the same category." Téa swiftly jumped in hoping that her words would sink into the woman's mind.

For a moment, Anoria did not speak but slowly she turned to stare at Téa who was giving her a knowing look. She could see the truth in the girl's words, it was a hard pill to swallow yet swallow she would, even if it would take her time.

"You're smarter than others your age," she remarked earning a soft smile from the teen. "Well, you got your answers let us return to your lesson, show me a curtsy."

The damn was there yet it was much lighter than it had been during the first part of her lessons. With a soft smile even though she was not looking forward to it, she chose to continue. She had indeed received answers and now that she knew, why her current teacher was, like this she could relax a bit.

With poise she wasn't aware she had, Téaleon gave a gentle curtsy which earned a nod of approval from her teacher. Satisfied with the curtsy they moved on to the way a lady should walk.

"A lady is confident, she is poised. This means that a woman walks with confidence and pose. You use the strength and center of gravity to lead with the hips and thighs. If you want to channel your feminine side, start by learning correct standing posture." Anoria ordered before walking over and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Stand up straight with your hips at inner shoulder width apart. Don't let your toes point out or in, but rather straight forward. Good. Now loosen your knees up slightly. Keep your chin so that it is parallel to the ground; keep your arms at your side,"

Whilst Anoria continued to give her young students instructions she helped by gently nudging the teen into position, helping her bring her shoulders back a bit and lowering them before lifting her chin slightly. In little time she had her walking, sometimes correcting things until finally she was told to continue walking as she was. After what felt like ten minutes, she was allowed to stop and return to Anoria's side.

"Now that that has been fixed, we will continue to other matters, dancing. You need to be able to dance." This made Téa pale considerably yet just as she was about to protest Anoria raised her hand. "You know my arguments; I will not repeat myself once again. I am also your teacher, now we begin with a simple dance."

"But I know how to dance –" Téa tried to object yet the woman wouldn't have any of it.

…

It was early morning as Nymphadora Tonks woke from her sleep. Yawning she looked around herself somewhat confused by her surroundings. This was most definitely not her flat in London; it was bigger and made of stone. The moment those thoughts connected with her brain the realization that she was actually at Hogwarts came crashing down swiftly followed by the fact that today was the first day she would be impersonating a student.

"Fuck!" She cursed before throwing off the covers and hurrying to get ready.

Dressing in regular clothes, she hurried from her chambers and made her way towards the meeting place. They had agreed the night before to meet in a more secluded area of the castle. An unused classroom near the History Classroom was to be used for all of the meetings and as a hide out for the student's she would be impersonating. It would be in the case of emergencies where Tonks would need to be summoned to Auror duties.

Arriving she slipped through the door and found Hermione waiting for her looking somewhat amused. Clearly, the teen had been expecting her tardiness.

"You were expecting this weren't you." She grumbled earning a soft chuckle from the teen. "Yes, I was. The uniform is there," The teen remarked while motioning to a room divider. "You can change into it and I brought all the books and homework for the day. Ron is going to meet you in the Great Hall. I often go to the Library early in the morning and it is not unusual for me to meet him there. Don't forget the Prefect badge."

"I just had to be impersonating three different Prefects," Tonks grumbled before making her way to the changing area that had been set up with a divider.

Changing her appearance into that of Hermione's, Tonks hurried to change into the girl's uniform before walking out. This instantly caught the brunette's attention. Earning a very odd look from the teen Tonks knew how she felt. She often received such expressions when she took the appearance of another person. It was surreal seeing yourself walking around and yet knowing it wasn't you.

"That is – I didn't think you could modify your vocal cords even with your ability," Hermione hurried to remark, her shock swiftly leaving her.

"I can't," Tonks answered before waving her wand in a mocking manner catching the Gryffindor's attention. "It's a spell I learned many years ago. It helps one mimic another's voice as long as they have heard it. I can teach it to you later if you want but right now you need to explain your homework to me so that I hand the right one to the right person."

"Oh right well, it's rather easy, made it so for you. I wrote the title of each class on each assignment so that you knew who to hand it to." Hermione answered while showing her the book bag. "The bag has a feather light charm on it and the inside is bigger than it should be because of an expansion charm. I made sure to put anything you might need inside of it."

"Brilliant, well I guess I should be on my way," Tonks remarked before grabbing the bag and slinging it over her shoulder like she knew Hermione wore it. With a final nod of approval from the young brunette, she headed off towards the Great Hall.

Navigating the halls, it did not take long to arrive and once at the doors she instantly spotted the young red head that was Ronald Weasley. Walking over she settled in a seat before him and it wasn't long before he pushed over the pumpkin juice.

"Monday morning, History's first," He grunted before taking a bite of his bacon. "Then its Potions finally finished that blasted essay Snape wanted."

"Professor Snape, Ron and you should have had it completed days ago," Tonks chided in the best Hermione-like way she could. With her voice just like Hermione's, the boy looked up trying his best to hide his surprise.

For a moment, he gazed at her as though calculating if it was Hermione of if it was Tonks and with a grin, he gave her a wink before looking back down at the paper in his hands. Tonks couldn't believe how much of a relief it was that Ron seemed to satisfied with the disguise.

Grabbing some toast and jam, she began to eat, and in very little time they were both finished and left the Great Hall. As they made their way to History class, they didn't speak much. Yet when they arrived, she was lucky that Ron took the lead and led them to the back seats that were empty. As they settled down, he turned to her and gave her a wink.

"I'll warn you, she normally takes notes during the entire class." He remarked softly so that only she could hear. "I hope you remember how boring History was from your own school days,"

With that, he turned away and folded his arms over the table before resting his head down. As the rest of the class arrived, Tonks swiftly noticed a good majority of the students doing the same thing. Then Binns arrived and Tonks's surprised memories of history returned with a vengeance reminding her why History had been one of her least favorite subjects.

Keeping herself from groaning, she swiftly took out some parchment, a quill, and ink. On the first piece of parchment, she wrote a small note for Hermione. If the girl wanted to do well on her History O.W.L then she didn't have to read Binn's notes. She knew a book that could help the girl, it was the same book that had been referred to her by an older Hufflepuff.

From there it didn't take her long to write an assessment for Binn's class.

Class: History Of Magic

Professor: Cuthbert Binns

Houses present: Gryffindor and Hufflepuff

In my opinion, Professor Cuthbert Binns is not teaching the students History as a whole. As I currently sit in his class, all around me students are either taking, this time, to sleep, work on other assignments or simply play games. Currently, Binns is talking about the goblin war and really every year he speaks about goblin wars. I understand that they are key points in our history but so is so much more. History is meant to teach students different points in history so that those points do not happen again so that they do not make the same mistakes of the past. Where is the subject of Grindelwald? The war against Voldemort, giant wars, history of some of our inventions, etc. As is to date, students are learning very little history as a whole and my recommendation is that a new teacher be found for the subject, to make it not only more interesting but also to teach students properly.

…

"You dance rather well, are you certain you never received lessons in the past?" Anoria questioned while she and her young student twirled around the ballroom floor.

"I actually hated dancing," Téa answered honestly. "Never had any use for it either until last year happened."

"Well, you will need it in your future. As the future Head of a family, you will no doubt be invited to many functions that will need you to be able to dance." Anoria remarked before slowly easing them to a stop. "Well, your dancing lessons are done my dear and that does bring this entire lesson to an end. I have taught you everything you should know, to being a proper lady. You even taught me something, now do not disappoint me by going to the world and ignoring all the lessons I have taught you.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Téa chuckled before giving the woman a smile.

"Good luck with the next teacher, I'm sure you'll be in for a surprise, the last one is always the oldest teacher one receives," Anoria remarked before everything turned dark leaving Téa more than a little curious to meet the next teacher. Just how far back were they going to go in time?

"That is a very good question my dear," came a soft voice as the darkness began to clear. Just like the other times, her new surroundings were as different as the other places had been. Yet there was an eerie resemblance between this and the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Yet this Great Hall was smaller and seemed older. There weren't any tables and there were large glass windows on one side only. Hanging from the stone, arched sealing's were large chandleries. Just then, she noticed the figure standing in the middle of the Great Hall, basked in the glow of light that filled the room from the windows. She looked regal almost, empowering even if she was dressed in a long flowering purple gown that looked to have been pulled from the middle ages.

She was a beautiful woman, no doubt about that. With long raven hair that went past her waist in waves, some pulled into a crown of braids while a gold circlet rested delicately upon her brow. She had bright green eyes and slightly tanned skin yet was still rather pale.

"Let us simply state that your teachers have been taken from various parts in history. Each held a major role in it. I am no different," the woman continued before gently walking towards Téa. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last Téaleon Potter. I have been – observing your journey through the tasks set upon you in this journey you face. I have also observed the various lessons you have undertaken and I am proud to see such advancements you have made."

"I – I'm sorry but who are you?" Téa whispered feeling somewhat overwhelmed. She could sense the magic around this woman; it was like nothing she had sensed before. She radiated power and confidence.

"Oh my dear, it has been so very long since I was given the opportunity to teach a new student. Even more so one from my own blood. Of course, you are not like the others of your family blood though are you?" The woman murmured while gazing into her eyes. "Raised in a very different environment, you learned to work hard, to rely on yourself. This is something many of our lines did not until it was far too late."

For a moment, Téa gazed at the woman, the way she spoke it was as though she was talking about many generations that had passed. Looking at her wardrobe again, Téa took in all its detailing, its beautiful quality, this was not something that was made in these days and time. Even in the wizarding world, this sort of attire was considered outdated, although no less beautiful. This was medieval attire, back then the Potters didn't exist. Just then, the small pieces began to fall into place and her eyes began to grow wide as gaze moved to emerald green eyes.

"You also seem to be a rather intelligent witch. I am your final teacher in this step of your journey;" The woman murmured gently. "My name is Morgana Le Fay and welcome to Le Fay Castle."

…

Storming into her rooms, Tonks felt her anger boiling over. She had just completed her first Potion class as Hermione Granger and to be perfectly honest she was angry. Actually, angry didn't seem to cover it.

Passing back and force, her features swiftly turned back to her own as her control on her ability wavered.

She knew Snape was prejudicial against the houses, with the exception being his own, yet she had never seen a teacher so – so cruel. Yes, he had been unpleasant when she had him during her school days but when it came down to Gryffindor's the man was outright cruel towards the students.

He paid no attention to his class allowing Slytherin's to sabotage other student's potions. He was no better than the other students, the way he spoke to them as though they were idiots, even bullying some of the students. That sort of behavior was not supposed to come from a teacher. A teacher was supposed to teach their students, not make them think they were idiots.

She didn't care what the hell the man did for the Order, he was a terrible teacher and it was wonder they were so low on Aurors if most students wished not to continue in their NEWT year potion studies. It also explained the shortage on Potion brewers in their world.

Storming over to her desk she swiftly sat down. Pulling parchment out, along with ink and quill she furiously began to write her report.

Class: Potion

Professor: Severus Snape

Houses present: Gryffindor and Slytherins

I have just completed my first and only view as a Gryffindor in the Potion class taught by Professor Severus Snape. My opinion is that Severus Snape is a biased, unprofessional, Professor. During the one lesson, I have been to, I have seen him intimidate, belittle, demean and terrorize his students, yet this behavior seems to only be sent towards the Gryffindor students.

His mere presence seems to bring fear to certain students, a fear he so clearly continues to motivate and grow. During my own time as a Hufflepuff, I will say that the man was not a pleasant teacher. Yet it never reached this level of behavior he seems to show towards the Lion House.

It is my conclusion, that Professor Snape, whilst an adept Potion Master in his own right, is either entirely incompetent as a teacher, or sufficiently willing to let his biases against the Gryffindor House cloud his teaching that he fails to demonstrate any competence as a teacher. Furthermore, if my assessment of Professor Snape is not to be taken to heart, I will warn that more and more students will continue to remove themselves from the art of Potion Making, shortening the supply of Potion Masters as well as leaving a large hole in our world. Potions are a very important subject for many future careers, to know that so many students have already opted to not take their NEWT level Potions simply because of a teacher, brings into question many points.

Before Professor Snape arrived the OWL grade to pass was an Exceeds Expectations, now you must gain an Outstanding yet how are you expected to gain such a mark when your Professor is the way Severus Snape is.

If more evidence wishes to be gained, I recommend a request of memories from students from all houses. I have little doubt that some would refuse.

Completing her second report of the day, she swiftly blew on the parchment before rolling it up and sealing it. Placing it in her desk drawer, she took a deep breath before getting up and walking to her mirror. Turning her features, back to Hermione's took a bit of time, yet finally, she was able to do so.

Taking one last deep breath to calm herself, she left her chambers and walked through the halls. Arriving at the Great Hall she swiftly settled herself in front of Ron who gave her a raised eyebrow.

"You lucky," Ron grunted softly making her eyes widen. "It was even worse when Téa was in class."

With that, he returned to his meal allowing her to do the same although at the moment Tonks didn't feel all the hungry.

Thankfully, her next class was Ancient Runes. She had taken Ancient runes during her own school days, had enjoyed it as well. This time around seemed no different, in fact, Professor Babbling seemed even more confident before the student considering the year Tonks had begun learning had been the year the woman had started her own teaching career.

Now, though, Tonks knew the next class would wane on her patients just as much as Snape's class had, Defence Against the Dark Arts taught by Dolores Umbridge.

"This is going to go wonderfully," She grumbled sarcastically to herself before entering the classroom.

* * *

 _ **Author note:**_

 _ **Sorry about the long gap between updates, this chapter gave me a very hard time and I'm beginning to have it on the next chapter as well. I actually hadn't thought about posting it today but then I promised a reader of the story it would be up today because of something today. Lol. So I hope you enjoy it.**_


	18. Chapter eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **Blood and Mind it all goes down the gutter somehow**

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

The moment she entered the classroom everything just went downhill. The classroom had been transformed into something from a nightmare. The walls had been turned pink, the desks were all covered in doilies and paintings of cats covered the walls. This woman's obsession with those three things seemed to have dominated even the classroom, which did not bode well for the class they were about to take. Of course, the bane of humanity was already present in her classroom, standing in the center of the room looking at all of them with a sickly sweet smile.

Holding in her emotions back, she followed Ron to their desk and swiftly sat down. Pulling out the last scroll of homework, she placed it neatly on the desk like the others. The moment the last student did so the woman flicked her wand causing every scroll to hover from their places and float towards the desk at the front of the class.

"Good day class," Umbridge greeted and, as though they had spent an entire lesson reciting the greeting, the class responded with a Good day Professor Umbridge.

Resisting the urge to fake puke, Tonks shot Ron a look earning an amused smirk in return before she put her attention back on Umbridge. This in itself was giving her a headache just like every other time she had been forced to listen to the woman's annoying voice.

"Now then, today will be different than your other classes. The Ministry's Magical Education department has asked me to give you this quiz. You will not be able to ask me any question about the quiz, as I am unaware of its contents." The woman announced making Tonks frown. This meant she would have to come for another class to see just what the woman was teaching her students.

At least I have three other students to come as; thought the young Metamorphmagus before she accepted the quiz. Grasping her quill, she looked down at the quiz to find it to be rather simple. All the things present in this quiz, students in their fifth year should know, it was all to be on their O.W.L's.

Swiftly answering the questions, Tonks didn't take long to complete it before sitting back in her chair. The moment she did, she caught the attention of Umbridge who narrowed her eyes at her.

Raising an eyebrow in silent challenge, she waited for the woman to respond. Amusingly it did not take long.

"Miss Granger, if you are indeed done your quiz, leave. You are disturbing the other students who are taking their quiz." Umbridge declared.

"How am I disturbing them? I was not speaking to anybody, nor doing anything. You are the one to speak up and disturb them." She answered back earning a scowl.

"Detention Miss Granger, for your cheek now leave my class." The woman ordered and with a look to Ron, she did as told.

Gathering her books, she left the class, leaving behind a very shocked set of students while Ron silently chuckled in his own seat. Arriving outside the class, she let a sigh leave her lips. That had not been very smart of her, she was certain Hermione would not have normally lost her temper as she had in that class. Perhaps - loss of temper - would not be the correct terms she would use; it was more or less allowing her to announce get the best of her. Still, it was done; she had nowhere else to go and so chose to make her way to the abandoned classroom where Hermione was relaxing in an armchair.

Walking along the halls, she noticed the portraits gazing at her and ignored them. Just as she was about to make her way up the stairs to the classroom, she passed by the Transfiguration classroom catching the Head of Gryffindors attention.

"Miss Granger!" Called the stern woman forcing her to stop in her steps before she turned and walked into the empty classroom. "Are you not meant to be in Defense Against the Dark Arts at the moment?"

"Hypothetically yes I am meant to be in that classroom at the moment Professor, but Professor Umbridge deemed that I was disturbing the rest of the class while they were completing the quiz given to us," Tonks answered trying her best to sound like Hermione.

"I see, and were you disturbing the other students?" The woman asked curiously.

"I was simply sitting silently at my desk ma'am, didn't speak a word. Professor Umbridge is the one who spoke and though I was disturbing the other students." She continued, this time, earning a tired sigh from the woman.

"Miss Granger," Began the Head of Gryffindor while slowly removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I understand the pain that you and Mister Weasley are going through, you have been separated from one of your best friends, haven't been able to contact her or speak to her for a very long time. You are both very worried about her. It is clear to all the school that you and Mister Weasley have changed since Miss Potters - absence."

"Professor -"But you are a Gryffindor Prefect Miss Granger," the strict woman continued giving Tonks a sharp look that made her silent. "You are expected to set on example for the lower years. I hope that you will consider your actions in the future when it comes to Professor Umbridge and her class. You are a bright Witch, do not allow anger or grief to blind you,"

"Of course Professor," Tonks murmured feeling somewhat embarrassed considering the conversation was probably meant for the real Hermione.

"Good, now I do not want to hear anything more from you on this front, you may continue along to Gryffindor Common Room," She ordered and with a nod, Tonks turned and left the classroom.

Finally scaling the steps she arrived in the right corridor and entered the room. The moment the teen noticed her arrival she frowned and looked at the time before turning back to her looking mystified.

"You're still supposed to be in Defence Against the Dark Arts." The teen remarked as Tonks swiftly turned back to her own appearance.

"Yes well, you have a detention. I'll be attending for you of course. I have a bad feeling about Umbridge and need to evaluate her in that type of situation. I'll speak with Dumbledore about removing it from your record considering it wasn't you who gained the detention." Tonks answered while moving towards a privacy screen to change into her own attire. "I also just got a talking to from McGonagall."

"What - why?" Hermione exclaimed more worry in her voice about that then there was about the detention.

"She saw me as you walking the halls while I should have been in class. You can view that memory if you so wish later on," Tonks answered back while throwing the blouse over the divider and grabbing her Weird Sisters shirt.

Once changed, she walked out and through the dirty clothes into a laundry basket that had been set up in the classroom before making her way to the chair before Hermione.

Slumping onto its leather surface, she let a tired sigh leave her lips. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she breathed slowly before opening them to find Hermione looking at her expectantly. Clearly, the young Gryffindor had been holding herself back so that she could gather herself a bit. Chuckling softly she motioned for the teen to speak.

"What were your thoughts about the teachers?" Hermione asked making Tonks soft smile sour, oh, she had not been very impressed today. Only one teacher had shown their competence, one of four was not good at least in her opinion. "That bad huh, I suppose I should have expected it."

"Sadly I will also have to return to Umbridge's class, today was nothing but a quiz," Tonks remarked before swiftly noticing the teens worried expression. "Nothing to worry about, it was only a Ministry handed quiz to deduce what the students knew. It should not be anything for you to worry over. I also took notes and gave some suggestions for certain subjects you might wish to take for your O.W.L's."

Extending the parchment over, Hermione swiftly and gratefully accepted it before sitting back.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, everything went well. Something I'm glad about with Snape considering things. Just tell me when Umbridge informs you of the date of your Detention so that I can make it." Tonks answered earning a nod from the teen.

…

For a moment, Téa could only stare. This was not possible, there was no way she was speaking little alone seeing the woman before her. Why would Morgana Le Fay teach her?

"To answer your questions dear, I am indeed Morgana Le Fay, as for why I would teach you it is very simple. I see the potential in you, you are a powerful witch my darling. Now this little problem of your mind being an open book will have to be fixed of course but that I will teach you." Morgana answered her voice tender and soft, such a striking contrast to the legends that had been told about the woman.

"You are really going to teach me? I mean, you are well you, one of the most powerful witches of ancient times and you're going to teach me?" She asked earning a soft chuckle from the woman.

"Oh child, you remind me greatly of my granddaughter. The same disbelief yet filled with such curiosity and power. Trust me, dear; I am here to teach you many things, one of which is a very important art. All Le Fay's have learned this art, normally from their parents. I will be teaching you. Now come, let us sit down."

Following her ancestor, Téa didn't speak. Her mind was whirling with all sorts of thoughts and possibilities. What this woman could teach her was unimaginable. Plenty of magic from that time had been lost, after all, it was just like the muggle world, and not everything from their history was known either, most especially from the ancient times. Of course, there would be the little side issue that the woman teaching her was considered a Dark Lady but that was beside the point.

She had met Voldemort in person; she had always sensed something off about the man, sensed the darkness that was inside of him. He always seemed angry, or at least most of the time and the times he was happy - a term she would use lightly - was at the suffering of others. Morgana felt- different.

Yes, she could feel the power in the woman, yet she could also see the wisdom and kindness in the woman's eyes. Not to mention her magic had been tingling ever since she had arrived, and not out of fear, out of content. This woman didn't feel a pinch like Voldemort, she might have been a Dark Lady but she was certainly not evil like Voldemort. Téa was slowly coming to terms with the fact that those two expressions were not one and the same.

"Sit my dear, we have plenty to do." The older woman advised while taking a seat of her own. "Now then the first art of magic I will be teaching you is called Occlumency. Etymologically speaking, the word "occlumency" comes from the Latin occludere, which means, "to shut up" and mens, which means, "mind". It is a magical defence of the mind against external penetration. Now to protect one's mind, one must compartmentalize, this is the basis for protecting our minds."

"How am I to do that? I'm – known for having my emotions close to the surface." Téa remarked earning a soft chuckle from her newest teacher.

"That I do not doubt, it is just like every other Le Fay, the ones I have met that is." Morgana laughed before giving Téa a soft smile. "Those emotions that you think are a weakness are not a weakness my dear, they will aid you in what I am to teach you. You will use them to build every inch of your protection. Emotions are what make us strong, they empower us. Why else do you think you are able to perform wandless magic with little effort?"

"How did you - know about your wandless magic? I did say I was watching you, very impressive and that little snake that is currently napping in your cloak is also something I am impressed with." Morgana chuckled making Téa smile while she looked down to find her friend curled in her cloak.

"So, you want me to use my emotions more?" Téa asked a ton of confusion in her voice.

"Yes, I do. Now before we get to that though I want you to meditate. This will help you calm your mind. This will help with other types of magic as well yet will aid you exceedingly well with your occlumency. Now, the goal of meditation is to focus and quiet your mind. One's hope is to reach a higher level of awareness and inner calm at the same time. Now to begin meditation, one would normally need a peaceful environment, now considering our situation I'm afraid this is what you will have to deal with for a location." Morgana remarked earning a soft smile from Téa.

"Actually, this seems like a truly beautiful place," She remarked, eyes dancing away from her new teacher to look around the place.

Now she could see more differences from Hogwarts especially as she looked out the window. She didn't know if it was a true depiction of what it was now or what it was in the future but it was still beautiful with a beautiful view of the water and mountains. The architecture was much older than Hogwarts, and yet it wasn't cold. It was elegant, warm and sophisticated.

"Le Fay Castle is a place I had built many years before my passing. To my knowledge it was sealed by my grandson, I am unaware of its current state in your own time." Morgana explained a sad expression crossing her features. "I do know that it is in the Highlands, as for that, I cannot say more. Things have more than likely changed; it is possible that in your time it may not be in existence."

That made Téa frown, it was true that Le Fay Castle may not exist anymore but she would need to look into it. This was her families first ever ancestral home, who knew what sort of secrets it held, what sort of history it held.

"Now though we should be getting back to your lessons dear." Her new teacher remarked pulling Téa from her thoughts. "This is a very important for you to learn my dear, very important."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

"You need to get into a comfortable position then we will begin meditation," Morgana answered earning a nod from Téa who swiftly slid from the seat onto the ground. Folding her legs, she got herself comfortable before looking up at her teacher who was gazing down at her with amusement.

"Now to begin this meditation, concentrate on your breathing. Focus your mind on how you breathe in and out." Morgana instructed.

Giving a nod, Téa shut her eyes before slowly taking a deep breath and letting it out making sure to concentrate on it. Doing so a few times though and she swiftly realized that that was not working.

"Hum, perhaps a different concentration method would be needed," Morgana remarked clearly realizing this as well. For a moment, the older woman thought before an idea formed. Waving her hand slowly over her other one, it didn't take long for a candle to appear.

Placing it before the teen, she swiftly lit the candle and it didn't take long for Téa's eyes to zero onto the candle.

Gazing at the dancing flame, Téa was able to concentrate on it unlike before. The dancing flame was captivating, and it wasn't long before her eyes dropped close yet that did not mean the flame left her sight. It appeared on her own as she continued to feel calm and relaxed. After a while, a soft yet distant voice filled her mind.

"You're doing so well Téa, now what you need to do is think of a place think would be perfect to hide inside. A place that you think would be perfect to hide thoughts, memories, and dreams."

Thinking about what the voice said, Téa tried her best to think about a place. The first place that came to mind was Privet Drive yet it was swiftly erased. There was no way she was ever going to use that place in any way. The next was Hogwarts yet she had constantly been in danger in that castle. She might have loved it yet it was still not the right place, not to mention so many people knew Hogwarts. Then came the Burrow, yet for some reason it didn't feel like a good place to choose, it wasn't – home. Nothing was home really in her life, Hogwarts came to be the closest yet it wasn't at the same time.

What other place could she use to store all those things that voice had said? What would be a place that nobody knew about or barely knew about? She barely knew anything about the wizarding world, little alone been anywhere and really the same could be said for the muggle world.

Just then, a thought began to form; yes she didn't know it well. She had only seen one room of it but nobody else knew about it. Nobody else had seen it in hundreds of years. Le Fay Castle was the perfect place for what she needed even if it was only restricted to the ballroom.

Concentrating on Le Fay Castle, it took a bit of time yet slowly her mind began to be filled with light and textures. In little time Téa found herself standing inside Le Fay Castle's ballroom once more, its grandeur and beauty bringing a smile to her face.

"Have you chosen Téa?" Came the voice once more.

"I have,"

"Good, now what you need to do is sort your mind. You should start with the memories that are simplest; we do not want to overwhelm you. You are doing very well." The voice continued, complimenting her as it did making Téa smile before she turned to the task at hand.

What would be easier? Nothing had really been easy in her life. From Privet Drive to Hogwarts, everything had a price and she had paid a dear one. Perhaps the trick was not to go easy but to go what with what she had already come to terms with and move from there. Things she had come to terms with had been in her past, the treatment at the hands of her relatives for instance.

She knew they hated her, that they didn't love her. She knew they would never change, that they would never accept her as part of their family. She had come to accept them, even though it had hurt at the time it no longer did. She didn't want to be part of that family, they were shallow, they were spiteful and they never once – once – looked at her the same way they had looked at Dudley. Of course now, she was thankful for that. The last thing she would have wanted was to be like Dudley. The boy was a complete bully and an idiot to boot.

Now that she had found the topic to start from she tried to pull up the memories, thoughts and other things that were associated with the name Dursley. It didn't take long for many images to come flying into the picture.

It was somewhat weird; it was as though her mind had placed every memory in a painting of sorts, highly amusing she had to admit. Starting with the ones closest to her, it took her a while to sort her memories and thoughts. When she was done a dull pain in the low of her back pulled her from her meditation state and she blinked her eyes open.

"Well dear, how did it go?" Morgana asked curiosity clear in her voice.

"It went better than I thought it would," she answered while gingerly standing so that she could stretch her back a bit. "I sorted through some of my memories; it takes longer than I would have thought, though."

"It would take longer, and you'll have to continue to work at it but for now I think you are ready to continue in our lessons. I am not simply here to teach you Occlumency my dear; I am here to teach you so much more."

…

It was after dinner as Tonks made her way to Umbridge's office, once more her appearance was like that of the brunette Gryffindor. Two days ago, she had gained the detention, it was only because of Hermione's Prefect Duties, and Professor McGonagall that it had been pushed back this late. Now though she would finally be able to see just how Dolores Umbridge conducted a Detention.

During the last two days, she had attended the classes of multiple teachers. It was a welcome relief to know that her assignment would be almost complete. Yes, she enjoyed being back at Hogwarts yet she missed being an Auror on duty more than she would have imagined.

Finally arriving at the woman's office, Tonk's shook those thoughts from her head before knocking.

"Do come in Miss Granger," came the sickly sweet voice that made her teeth grind. Holding back the impulse she did as told and entered the woman's office.

The moment she did, she was met with the most horrifying sight imaginable. Yes, she liked pink but she had never, ever considering doing this to a room in her entire life. Everywhere you looked the room was pink, even the bloody floor! The walls were covered in plates decorated with cats or pictures of cats and the doilies were everywhere.

"Have a seat Miss Granger, you will be doing lines." The woman continued while motioning towards the small desk that was set up before her own.

Slowly moving towards it, Tonks gingerly sat down. As she moved towards her bag for a quill the woman gave a soft tut.

"No need dear, I have provided a proper quill for your use," she announced making Tonks frown before she looked down to spoke a simple quill placed delicately before the stack of parchment.

Grasping it she looked up at the woman expectantly. After all, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to write.

"You will write, I will not disrespect a teacher," Umbridge ordered before turning to her tea.

Holding back the urge to roll her eyes, Tonks brought the quill down to the parchment. There was no ink, so the quill must have been self-inking which was all right with her. It was easier to write that way, more like a muggle fountain pen. Yet as she began to write, something did not feel right. Red shining ink now dotted the parchment yet a dull pain had formed on her hand.

Eyes shooting towards it, they grew wide as she read the words upon her wrist. Black Quill, this woman was using a Black Quill in her detentions.

Eyes narrowing dangerously she looked up at the woman who was sipping her tea and paying her no mind. Black Quills had been banned years ago by the Ministry itself, the only place it was allowed to be used was at Gringotts and even then it was under certain conditions only and never to witches or wizards under the age of seventeen.

Biting her tongue, she continued to write, knowing that she had to get through this detention. Yet she also knew that Dumbledore needed to see this for himself. Thankfully, she got her chance when Umbridge rose to her feet.

"I will return shortly Miss Granger, I expect you to continue your lines or another detention will be assigned." She spoke before leaving the office. Waiting a few minutes Tonks swiftly called for a house elf.

With a pop, one appeared looking rather curious about why he had been called.

"What can Dobby do for yous?" asked the elf.

"I need you to get Dumbledore, inform him that he needs to make his way to Madam Umbridge's office. Inform him that it is important he comes quickly." She ordered and although still confused the elf gave a nod before popping away.

No sooner had he done so and that Tonks returned to her lines that Umbridge re-entered the office and retook her seat. Returning to her lines she hoped Dumbledore would arrive shortly and her hope wasn't for nothing as moments later a knock at the door had Dolores looking up in alarm. Before she could grab the quill from her hands the door opened and in entered Dumbledore and Amelia Bones.

"Head – Headmaster! I protest this invasion of privacy!"

"You are handling a detention to one of my students Dolores, I have full right to observe or interfere if I feel the need." The man remarked before noticing just what Tonks was holding. The moment he did, his eyes narrowed and anger took over the normally sparkling blue eyes. "Miss Granger, please hand that quill to Madam Bones,"

"You cannot do this that is my personal property!" Dolores protested, yet as she lunged for the quill, Tonks was quicker and was able to move out of the way which caused the woman to crash into the desk.

Hurrying to Amelia she handed the woman the quill earning a frown yet as the woman looked down the frown turned from one of confusion to one of furry.

"Dolores Umbridge, you are under arrest for the possession of a classified A Dark Arts object. Black Quills are only to be used by the Goblin nation on classified documents and never on underage wizards or witches. Your use of a Black Quill for lines in a Detention is not only barbaric but quite illegal." The Head of the DMLE announced before a feral grin formed on her face clearly realizing that she had finally pinned the pink toad woman with something that would have her removed from the Ministry. It would also give her the chance to investigate the woman to see what else she had done.

"This means, Madam Umbridge that you are under arrest," Amelia announced before moving forward. As she placed the woman in cuffs and read her rights, she gave Tonks a soft nod before leading the woman from the office leaving Dumbledore and Tonks behind.

"So, I guess we'll need to bring some aurors in to see who else held a Detention with Dolores Umbridge," Tonks remarked while swiftly turning back to her normal appearance. "I most definitely had no clue she was doing this during her detentions, it was just luck I got one."

"You did well in contacting me swiftly Auror Tonks, thank you for your assistance this evening. As this was the last part of your assignment, I expect your reports on my desk tomorrow. We will speak then about your experiences through the various classes." Dumbledore complimented earning a soft nod from the young auror. "Also inform Miss Granger that she needs not worry about the Detention being on her record, seeing as she was not the one who gained the detention."

"Of course Professor," Tonks murmured before leaving the office behind.

* * *

 **Author note:**

 **Surprise! I'm posting it today because I didn't want to post it tomorrow. A) being I would have been too tired to do so because it is Canada Day tomorrow or B) Because I would not have been able to use a computer with the amount of alcohol I was planning on consuming while sitting at the beach because it is Canada Day.**

 **I guess you can pretty much guess that tomorrow for me is Canada Day so Happy Canada Day to all! May you drink, have fun, and be safe! To those outside our borders, be safe and stay safe!**


	19. Chapter nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **The Interviews**

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

It was early morning as students entered the Great Hall for breakfast. Many were silent, mostly because they were all still half-asleep. Up at the staff table, Tonks sat in her chair, speaking softly with Professor Sprout, today would be her last day at Hogwarts. It wasn't long before they were joined by the Headmaster and, to the surprises of many, Amelia Bones.

At the site of the Head of the DMLE, many fell silent, leaving the way for the sound of footsteps as they walked across stone floors. Once they arrived at the front of the hall, they turned to the students.

"Good morning students, as you can see we have been joined this morning by Madam Amelia Bones. To those who are unaware of who she is, she is the Head of the DMLE which is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The reason for her visit here is not a very good one I am sad to announce. Perhaps you have noticed the absence of your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." The Headmaster announced and no sooner had he spoken those words did all the students turn their attention to the staff table and indeed noticed the empty seat that once held the very pink Defense Professor.

After this Madam Bones stepped forward claimed the attention of the student body and causing a silence to fall once more.

"Dolores Umbridge was arrested yesterday for the unlawful use of a dark artifact and being in possession of said artifact. Today, with the permission of the Headmaster I will speak with all of those who received a detention with Professor Umbridge. As most of you are underage, the presence of your Heads of House will be needed." Amelia began to explain earning some hushed whispers in response. "This will be acting as your Temporary legal guardian as you are under their care here at Hogwarts. I hope you all understand that you did nothing wrong that we simply wish for you to answer our questions honestly and truthfully." Here she stepped back allowing the Headmaster to speak.

"For this reasons, all classes have been canceled for the day. This does not mean that you will be simply doing nothing. Students will remain in the Great Hall under the supervision of certain members of staff. You will be allowed to fetch your assignments and books to study. Consider this, a study session for your finals." Dumbledore continued earning some groans from the students which made him chuckle.

"Those I call will accompany the four Heads of House and I," Amelia declared before pulling a piece of rolled parchment from her inner breast pocket.

As she unrolled it, the students around the hall looked somewhat nervous. With one more look around the hall, Madam Bones slowly began to read the names off the list.

 ** _Colin Creevey_**

 ** _Dean Thomas_**

 ** _Demelza Robins_**

 ** _Fred Weasley_**

 ** _George Weasley_**

 ** _Justin Finch-Fletchley_**

 ** _Lee Jordan_**

 ** _Michael Corner_**

 ** _Neville Longbottom_**

 ** _Padma Patil_**

 ** _Seamus Finnigan_**

 ** _Terry Boot_**

 ** _Theodore Nott_**

 ** _Zacharias Smith_**

The list complete, the parchment was returned to its pocket. Slowly those named rose to their feet along with the four Heads of House.

Leading the group of students from the Great Hall, Amelia was thankful that Dumbledore had set up a set of rooms for them to use. Allowing them to enter before her, the Heads of House swiftly followed behind. They were all unaware of what had happened, something, which had been unintentional, yet there had simply not been enough time to inform them of what was happening.

"I understand that you all might be worried about what is about to happen but I can promise you that this will be nothing bad. I will simply be asking you questions. All you have to do is answer them truthfully and we will be satisfied. Now I will begin with you Mister Nott considering you are the only Slytherin here, please follow me." Amelia announced before leading the way into the adjourning room where a table and chairs had been set up for the interview.

Sitting down she motioned for the two Slytherins to do so. While Professor Snape chose to stand, Mister Nott settled down into a seat quite calm about the situation.

"Mister Nott, I understand that you received a detention with Professor Umbridge in the month of September." She began earning a nod from the boy as though he was confirming this. "What were your duties during this detention?"

"I was told to write lines. Specifically, I shall not physically assault another student. The reason I got that specific line is because I punched Malfoy in the nose." Nott remarked a tone of pleasure in his voice that had Amelia rising on eyebrow. "The boy insulted my father, my mother, and my sister. I had the right to defend their honor."

"Indeed, now did you use your own quill during this detention?" Amelia questioned.

"Yes ma'am, I suppose the reason I was called here is because the rumors of a Black Quill were not rumors at all." He remarked, voice smooth and unwavering.

"What rumors were these Mister Nott?" She questioned softly.

"It was going around Slytherin," Nott answered a frown forming on his face. "That all students who received a detention with Umbridge would be forced to use a Black Quill, of course, that wasn't something that was applied to pureblood students who had high ranked parents in the Ministry of the Wizengamot. Only muggle-borns, half-bloods and those seen to be lower standards were to be put under it. I did not wish to believe the rumor considering the circumstances and I had suspected that if the Slytherin house held this rumor the other houses would as well and that word would reach a Professor or the Headmaster."

"It would seem that Mister Nott has had a lapse in judgment. I do believe that that is normal for most if not all teenagers would you not say Madam Bones," Snape drawled yet Amelia rolled her eyes, clearly, the man was trying to protect the boy yet she wasn't going to place blame on the Nott Heir.

"I am not here to accuse Mister Nott of anything Professor Snape. I simply wished to know if he was a victim of Dolores Umbridge." She remarked coarsely before turning her attention back to the teen before her who seemed rather amused by them. "Thank you Mister Nott, you're information here today will help us." Amelia declared earning a nod from the boy.

"Of course Professor, I was happy to help. Wish I could have done more, I didn't over like the pink toad to begin with," he remarked before rising to his feet and giving her a nod.

With that, he left the room and Professor Snape followed suit. The next Professor to enter the interview room was Professor McGonagall and trailing behind her was a young boy. As the boy nervously took a seat, Minerva did so as well.

"Mister Creevey, correct?" Amelia asked gently, earning a shaky nod from the boy. It was clear her was nervous about the whole situation, which Amelia could not blame him for.

It was not often that you met with the Head of the DMLE for an interview, especially at such an age. Even older wizards quivered in their boots when she entered the interrogation room. She was, after all, a rather intimidating witch.

"You have nothing to be worried about Mister Creevey, I simply want to ask you a few questions. As I said as long as you answer truthfully everything will be fine." She remarked, a gentle tone in her voice that wasn't normally there – unless the situation called for it.

For a moment, the boy looked to his Head of House and after a nod and a gentle smile from the woman – which in itself was a rare occasion to see - gave a nod of agreement.

"Good now why don't we start simply." Amelia murmured before looking down at her documents. "You were given a detention in September, the first one you had with Professor Umbridge, after that you had more than five detentions."

"Yes ma'am," the boy mumbled.

"During your detention what did Professor Umbridge make you do?" Amelia continued earning a curious look from the Head of Gryffindor while the boy fidgeted.

"I wrote lines ma'am - I will not tell lies nor be rude to be elders." He answered.

"What is it Professor Umbridge thought you were lying about?" Amelia questioned rather curious by this, yes children lied but it was normal behavior.

"She was saying horrible things about Téa!" The boy suddenly exclaimed surprising both the Head of Gryffindor and Madam Bones who were not expecting such a loud outburst from the boy. "I told her that Téa was a good person, brave, loyal, smart and respectable. That she was a person who stood up for what she believed in. I said that if she said You - Know - Who was alive then I believed it too and that we should learn how to defend ourselves instead of reading from a useless book every class."

The last part began just as loud as the first yet as the boy began to remember whom he was speaking to it lowered into a mumble. Still, it was quite clear that Collin Creevey was very certain of his words, as well as loyal to the young Gryffindor witch who was currently lying on a bed in a hidden location. He had fought to defend her against a person who had not even met the girl in question. Spoke up in her defense and tried to spread the message she had wanted spread, the truth.

"And you were right Mister Creevey, we are striving to fix the issues at hand so that you may learn proper ways of defending yourself. Now my next question is simple, did Professor Umbridge allow you to use your own quill or did she provide one for you to use?" The question was not a very normal one to ask, usual Professors had the students utilize their own quills yet this was not a normal situation.

Here the boy grew tense before he ducked his head.

"Madam Bones, I do not understand where these questions are leading, of course, the boy used a quill what else would he use to write lines," The stern Transfiguration Professor remarked sounding both concerned and troubled. Both emotions Amelia could understand yet she was more concentrated on the boy at the moment.

"She will not be able to harm you Mister Creevey, she has been arrested and will face trial. Whatever she made you do will only further our case against her. Could you show me your hand?" She asked gently and although hesitant, the boy slowly allowed one hand to appear and extended it to Amelia who gingerly placed her own hand under it.

The moment she spotted the pearly white flesh upon the boys hand her anger grew. How could anybody do this to a child, a child who was simply speaking his mind? This child had done nothing but defend a person who could not defend themselves, why he had shown great courage in standing up to a teacher even though he should not have had to do so.

"Mister Creevey, the quill Madam Umbridge made you use is qualified as a dark object. It is only to be used in Gringotts and only then under specific circumstances. What she did to you is qualified as torture." Amelia began and the moment the Head of Gryffindor spotted the boys hand she took it from her hand and looked at it with growing anger.

"It is called a Black Quill,"

"That - that -" Yet the Head of Gryffindor didn't seem to be able to continue, her anger had grown and her shoulders were shaking. Thankfully and somewhat surprisingly, her grip on the boy's hand remained loose and gentle as though not wanting to harm the boy more than he had already been harmed.

"Thank you mister Creevey, now there is just one more thing that I must ask of you, during the trial, I wish to provide memories of the event. This will prevent you from having to enter the courtroom. I'm asking this of all the students who used the quill." Amelia explained earning a soft nod from the boy.

"How do we do that?" He asked curiously.

"It's very simple; I simply need you to bring that memory to the front. From there I will place the tip of my wand to your temple and the memories will be extracted, they will be copies and the original memories will remain in your mind." the explanation seemed simple and the notion was indeed simple, thankfully, the boy gave a nod of agreement.

It took little time to extract and bottle the memories before documenting them. Once that was done, the young Gryffindor was allowed to leave and another Gryffindor was sent in. So it continued, with many of the students saying the same as the other young boy. With dozens of memories at her disposal, three furious Heads of House and much anger towards the toad, Amelia left the interview rooms with great satisfaction. The evidence she had gained today would help greatly in making sure that Dolores Umbridge would not see the light of day again. Now it was time to dig into the woman's affairs at the Ministry and if possible, her finances.

...

Gazing down at the reports before him, Albus Dumbledore felt even older than he was. Already today had brought great sadness to his aged heart. The knowledge that his own students had been forced to utilize the Black Quill was angering, the fact that it had happened to so many, even more so.

Now, as he sat here, reports from the young Auror in plain view he could not protest that there was more wrong with his school then he was willing to admit.

History of Magic was a very important class, even more so than people thought. He had honestly hoped that Binns would have moved passed his Goblin War passion and teach other points of History yet it was clear that that would not be happening.

This would be hard to correct. Very few students had chosen to continue their N.E.W.T's in the subject of History. Thankfully, there had been a handful of brave few who did; those would be the ones he would need to contact.

Then came Severus Snape. The man could teach, that he knew, yet he seemed to be only able to teach a select group of people. Those who chose to put their knowledge at the forefront and truly wanted to learn the subject. Yet the young auror held multiple points against Severus.

He would need to think of a solution to this problem. Their world was indeed in a shortage of Potion Masters and Mistresses, other magical countries were building their name in the subject whilst they only held a handful of talented potioners.

Students did not wish to continue the subject when they knew the teacher to be a seemingly narrow-minded man. The notion that he was bullying students, allowing others to carelessly put others in danger and ignore others was simply too much to ignore. Potions were very dangerous and volatile if not handled properly, they could very usually do irreversible damage and harm.

Changes would have to be made by the end of the term, yet those changes would take time. At the very least, he could manage History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts before he handled Potions.

Thankfully, the only other teacher that seemed to be less than satisfactory was Divination yet the subject was not one that could be taught. He would stress to Sybill that it would be prudent to inform on the subject. Not everybody held the eye for Divination.

"Letters would be in order, we must make contact with a few Historians yet first, Fawkes could you please bring this to our dear friend." He requested while extending a letter to the beautiful bird.

With a soft thrill, the phoenix flew from its perch and grasped the letter in its sharp talons. As it flew around the office in gave one last thrill before bursting into flames and disappearing.

Satisfied with that settled, he began penning various letters until at last the last one was sealed and ready for when Fawkes returned.

...

As dinner came to be, the students returned to the Great Hall. Many had been excused from it, once normal lesson hours had been completed. Yet as they entered the hall, they swiftly noticed that nothing else seemed to have changed at the Head table.

Sitting at Gryffindor Table, Hermione looked at the Headmaster with a frown. The man was smiling; it was clear that something good had happened considering the man was always looking so serious as of late. Probably a mixture of both Téa and the war.

Just as she was about to turn to her meal the soft clinking of silverware against glass caught her attention and the rest of the schools for that matter.

Turning to the Head table they all found Professor McGonagall placing her silverware down before the Headmaster stood.

"Today, our school has gone through various changes. I do not wish to remove you from your classes longer than necessary. After all, they are quite important." He remarked earning some snorts from students. "No doubt you all must be wondering what will happen of your Defense Classes. Well, you all will be quite pleased that I have already acquired a replacement for the newly opened post. The Ministry of Magic has approved this replacement. The reason for this is simple; measures have been put in place for the protection of all."

"He can't mean -" Hermione whispered realization downing as her before she turned to look at Ron who was looking at her in just as much shock before a broad grin formed upon his face.

"Bloody hell,"

"Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is not a stranger to teaching. In actuality, he was once your teacher. Please help me in welcoming back Professor Remus Lupin who will be taking the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

With that, the doors to the Great Hall opened wide and every student turned to see the shabby looking werewolf entered the halls a soft smile upon his aged features. The silence was resounding as students could only stare in shock. Finally Hermione and the Weasleys stood, clapping as they went a broad grin upon their face. It was not long before the other Gryffindors followed suit and from there, the Ravenclaws stood followed by the Hufflepuffs. Finally portion of the Slytherin table rose, being led by Theodore Nott.

For a moment the man simply stood in place, appearing shocked by the welcome he was receiving yet he soon seemed to relax, a warm smile returning to his face before he walked up to the Head table where he graciously took the seat he had once occupied a year and half before.

"Indeed, indeed welcome Professor Lupin, now to those who may not know Professor Lupin is a werewolf but I assure you this is nothing to be afraid of. Professor Lupin will not be near Hogwarts during his transformation. The Ministry has seen that other precautions be made, such as a supply of wolfsbane potion. Here I will allow Professor Snape to explain the potion."

With that, the Headmaster retook his seat and the Head of Slytherin grudgingly stood from his own seat.

"The effects are quite clear; Wolfsbane does not cure lycanthropy, yet eases the symptoms. This allows one to hold on to their mental faculties after their transformation." The man began earning the attention of students. "It renders the dangerous beast into an ordinary wolf."

With that, he returned to his seat and Dumbledore spoke again.

"Professor Lupin will be taking this potion, and has for a very long time. Now, Defense Classes will resume in two days' time, this will allow your new Professor time to prepare for his lessons." The Headmaster announced before looking around the hall at all the students. "Those who wish to object of Professor Lupin will be directed to me personally."

With that final statement, the Headmaster retook his seat showing that the announcements were completed and it was no sooner done that the students burst into excited whispers.

At Gryffindor Table, many of the lions were excited about the return of - in most of their minds - the best Defense Professor to have occupied the position in years. The Weasleys and Hermione were also pleased yet a hidden worry was also in them.

"I wonder who is going to watch over Sirius," Hermione mumbled softly.

"My mum always goes to goes to them, she makes sure he eats, I'm sure she won't stop just because Lupin is back teaching. Plus Sirius has a goal and you know it as well as I do." Ron answered back earning surprised looks from those who heard him speak. Clearly, the fact that Ron was growing up was a surprise to many.

"Ickle Ronniekins is growing up it seems George!" Fred exclaimed earning a scowl from their younger brother.

"They grow up so fast!" George fake sobbed before the twins began to cry loudly earning some looks from around the table while some simply rolled their eyes in exasperation at their antics.

...

Grimmauld Place was quiet as Sirius made his way back to Téa's bedroom. In one hand, he held his own super and in the other some simple broth and a series of potions that he was to feed his goddaughter. Arriving he gingerly placed both platters down before looking at the frail looking figure on the bed.

Nothing much had changed in her appearance, her hair was almost completely silver-white now yet she hadn't lost much weight. The food and potions they were feeding her helping in that area.

Since he had become a free man, Sirius had done everything in the hopes of learning something to help his goddaughter. He had done a trip to London, making sure that Téa wouldn't be alone. Remus would be with her as well as Molly Weasley.

He had gone to a bookstore, and asked the owner for his medical section and after looking through it found a handful of documents that he hopes would help him.

Coma's were a rare thing in the Magical world, and truly nobody really associated the word with anything in their world, not even the Dementors Kiss. Yet the two were ultimately similar and Sirius' hope was to gain some information that could help him.

Thankfully, his trip had not been for nothing, he had indeed found information that would help him. According to the books, muggle hospitals involved the family of comatose patients. The sound of a familiar voice and human touch were instrumental in helping a comatose patient return to consciousness. This also moved on to physical treatment on a daily basis because a patient needed to keep their muscles strong and so that something called atrophy did no set in.

It was also explained that those who received physical therapy would regain their strength much sooner than those who receive no therapy. He might not have been a trained doctor or Healer, yet Poppy had been able to teach him some things to do with Téa such as bending her limbs, massaging her muscles and moving her around a bit. He did this every day, and it wasn't the only thing he did.

Reading had come to be a good past time for himself. Having picked up some books from the bookstore and with plenty of books from Diagon Alley he began to read to Téa.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard had been the first book he had read to the teen, and he would have to give it to her to read when she awoke. Every child in their world knew stories from the book, she would have grown up reading stories if James and Lily had still been alive or he had raised her. Yet he had also read her some muggle fairy tales knowing that Lily would have wanted that.

He didn't just read fairy tales, he had found some books inside Téa's trunk and read her those. Every night he read a chapter or more, before retiring to his own bed for rest.

He had already completed Téa's physical therapy for the day. After feeding her, he would be starting a new book. Of course, tonight would be different, Remus wouldn't be around. He would be at Hogwarts back as being what he was amazing at. The man was a great Teacher there was no denying it and now he was finally doing something he enjoyed.

"Sirius," came a soft voice that had him turning to find Molly standing in the doorway. "I'll be leaving now, is there anything you want me to do before I leave?"

"No Molly thank you, you know I'd probably poison myself and Téa if left to make food." he joked earning a soft smile from the older woman.

"NO trouble dear, now you get your rest as well,"

With that, she left and Sirius began to feed his goddaughter while also eating his own food. Once both platters were empty - not only of food but potions as well - he moved to the bookshelf in the room and grabbed a new book. Returning to the chair, he settled back before turning the book to read the summer.

"Everybody says that Gwendolyn Chant is a gifted witch with astonishing powers, so it suits her enormously when she is taken to live in Chrestomancy Castle. Her brother Eric (better known as Cat) is not so keen, for he has no talent for magic at all.

However, life with the great enchanter is not what either of them expects and sparks begin to fly!"

"Hum sounds interesting. Actually, I think I remember you mother reading this when she was pregnant with you." Sirius remarked softly before turning the book back to the right side and opening it. Arriving at the first chapter, he began to read.

As he did so he did not notice something that would bring a small bit of hope, a signal that things seemed to be going well, a soft twitch of the teens hand, a single motion that would normally be classified as nothing more than the body reacting to something.


	20. Chapter twenty

**_Important Author Note: _**

**_Listen up readers! This chapter will most probably confuse many of you, trust me this was intentional. The chapter and the confusion lol! This idea came to me thanks to a friend giving a suggestion and I have to say I love how it turned out! I hope you all enjoy it and yes I skipped a section. Said section will come up later in the story! Cheers and hope you enjoy it!_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

 ** _Chapter Twenty_**

 ** _Wow - what the hell is happening!_**

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It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds singing and simply – relaxing. It was why, Téa found herself sprawled upon the grounds of Hogwarts, not far from the lake where the Giant Squid was lazing about. She had just completed her final O.W.L in Transfiguration and all had gone well – all those extra lessons her dad had helped her with via mail had done wonders and she was very certain she had received a good enough mark to continue in McGonagall's N.E.W.T's class. Tomorrow she would be going home, and really, she couldn't wait.

"Téa!" Came a shout that had the young Potter Heiress' eyes opening. Slowly rolling onto her stomach, she watched with amusement as a young thirteen-year-old boy ran towards her, a grin plastering on his face.

The boy was adorable, with messy dark red hair that stuck up in every direction and honey colored eyes. He was her complete opposite in appearance, more like their mother than their father like she was. He was Charles Potter, so named after their grandfather.

"I just finished my Defense exam!" the boy exclaimed before dropping on the grass before her and giving her a big grin. "Carly is still taking her Charms Exam and Dustin is taking his Potions exam."

"How did you do?" She asked curiously.

"Brilliantly, Defense is such an easy subject with you helping us out, how are you so good at it? I mean you barely study in that subject, or that's what your friends complain about." The boy asked making her chuckle.

"I don't know, it just comes natural to me," she answered before pushing herself up onto her knees. "Did you pack your things up, or are you leaving it till last minute like always." She teased earning a pout from the boy.

"I don't leave it to the last minute, just because I'm not like Dustin who's in Ravenclaw and so automatically extremely organized doesn't mean anything. Anyway, you're no better, you probably still have all your things thrown around your dormitory just like your room at home," The boy remarked making her growl.

"Are you calling me a slob?" She snapped earning a grin.

"No, you're calling yourself a slob," he joked before scrambling to his feet and hurrying away. "You know it too!"

"Get back here you little pipsqueak! I'm not a slob!" She shouted while hurrying to her own feet and racing after him.

Arriving at the castle, she panted lightly yet in the little bit of a head start her younger brother had he had gotten away. Grumbling under her breath, she slowly made her way to Gryffindor Common room. Now that she was away from her comfortable spot on the grounds she had best start packing her own things so that she didn't have to do it tomorrow in a rush.

Entering the common room she made her way up the stairs and swiftly found that the only other occupant was Hermione, her best friend.

"Trying to find enough room for your books?" She teased, swiftly noticing the two books in the girl's hands and the rest of the books on the bed.

"They all fit at the beginning of the school year!" The girl whined making Téa snort.

"That's because you had less at the start of the school year, you have way more now because of trips to Hogsmeade and Christmas." She remarked earning a sigh from the brunette before she lifted the lid to her own trunk.

"I'm guessing Charles got to you," Hermione spoke up swiftly noticing that her friend was also beginning to pack. "He called you a slob didn't he?"

"I'm not a slob," she grumbled earning a chuckle from her friend. "I'm just a little messy that's all,"

Grabbing the nearest pile of clothing, Téa started to fold it until she was able to put it all in her trunk, going to her desk she gathered everything there into neat piles before bringing it all to her trunk and stashing it properly so that the inkbottles and quills wouldn't break while the parchment wouldn't be squashed. Continuing, as she was she thankfully had her entire trunk packed and with a heavy huff settled onto her bed.

"Are you excited to be going home?" Hermione asked while finally stuffing the last of her books into her trunk and shutting the lid.

"Merlin yes, I can't wait! Mum always makes a combination of all our favorite meals when we get home plus everybody's going to be there, Uncle Moony, Uncle Padfoot, Aunt Amelia and all us teens and stuff. Plus Uncle Padfoot promised to give me my first lesson on a motorcycle when I got home."

"You and motorcycles, I swear you have a love for speed and danger," Hermione grumbled making Téa laugh.

"What danger Hermione, the only dangerous thing I do is Quidditch, my life is completely normal and really a little bit of adventure here and there wouldn't be so bad." She teased while rolling on her side to look at her friend who had settled on her own bed.

"What sort of adventures?"

"Oh I don't know, trolls, detentions in the Forbidden Forest, chasing after all sorts of stuff. I thought last year would be my one chance to have an adventure when the Triwizard Tournament came along, instead only those of age could enter." She bemoaned not caring if it sounded like she was complaining. "Would it kill to have a simple adventure once and a while?"

"Well I guess not, but really a troll, and that tournament was dangerous Téa, how much of a chance do you think you could have had against a dragon?" Hermione questioned making her frown.

For a moment she thought about it, how much chance would she have had against a Dragon. The beasts blew fire, were great flyers -

"I would have flown," she remarked thoughtfully, a picture of herself on a firebolt coming to mind as she flew around a stadium in hopes of finding the golden egg.

"Oh yeah out flying a dragon, smart idea that is. They are naturally born to fly you, on the other hand, have a broom between your legs, and might I add that brooms are made of wood and straw, both of which are easily combustible materials." Hermione remarked smartly making Téa sigh, still, she couldn't seem to get the image of her flying around a dragon on a firebolt out of her mind which was odd because she didn't have a firebolt. "Plus I highly doubt your Nimbus 1700 would have been capable of out flying a dragon."

"But a Firebolt would have been." she sighed dreamily earning a snort from the brunette.

"A Firebolt, who in their right mind gives a teenager a Firebolt, that thing is so fast you could easily break your neck, especially with the tricks you pull," Hermione grumbled making her sigh wistfully.

"Can you blame a girl for dreaming, I mean a Firebolt. The fastest broom on the market, if I had that the other House teams wouldn't stand a chance," Téa murmured dreamily.

"They are already losing to you and the entire Slytherin team has Nimbus 2001's, come on Téa don't fool yourself you're a brilliant Quidditch Player as it is and so is the rest of your team. Do you know whose going to be captain next year?" Hermione asked peaking Téa's interest as the subject moved to Quidditch.

"Angelina said she was recommending me considering I'm the oldest standing member of the team, with me starting in my first year and all. I'll have a lot of work to do though I mean we're losing not only two of our chasers but our Beaters as well and there will be no replacing Fred and George Weasley, they're like human bludgers themselves." Téa mourned before sitting up straight and looking at her friend. "Do you think I could convince my parents that as Gryffindor team Captain I deserved a better broom, maybe a Firebolt or at the very least a Nimbus 2000, I mean I don't want the same broom as Malfoy after all,"

"Didn't you have the same conversation with your parents last year?" Hermione questioned making Téa frown.

"But that was before, next year I'll be Quidditch Captain," she answered yet the brunette shook her head.

"I don't know Téa it's in their hands, not yours."

...

Stepping off the Hogwarts express, Téa bid her friends a farewell with promises to write and to see each other during the summer. Making her way to the meeting point that she and the rest of her family were supposed to be she found Susan Bones already waiting. Susan Bones was her Aunt Amelia's niece. She had lost her parents during the war and stayed with her Aunt because of it. She was still family, actually she and Susan practically grew up together with the amount of times they visited each other.

It wasn't long before the others arrived, first was Charles, then came Dustin. Dustin might have been a Ravenclaw and a third year but he looked more like a fourth year with how tall he was. Dustin was also her complete twin with the exception of being male.

It took a bit of time but finally the future pranksters of Hogwarts, Abigail Black, and Carly Potter joined them. Carly had lighter red hair than their mothers but her eyes were honey in color while Abigail had blonde hair and blue eyes. They had both been sorted into Slytherin, to everybody's surprise yet that didn't last long as they soon made their cunning known with their pranks.

"Alright, everybody here, good, let's head home," Téa announced before making sure she had a hand on her trunk and Hedwig's cage while reaching out for the portkey that had been assigned to their small group.

With everybody holding on the portkey activated and they disappeared from Kings Cross Station. Landing on the ground, it didn't take long for Téa to fall to the ground along with others in their group.

"Merlin I hate Portkeys," she mumbled yet as she moved to push herself up her vision blurred and was soon filled with something she had never seen, a young her, dressed in some sort of tournament gear landing in a cemetery with - Cedric Diggory at her side.

No sooner had that vision come had it disappeared leaving her the only one on the ground. Hearing her name she looked up to find Susan looking down at her in worry.

"You alright Téa?" The Hufflepuff asked.

"I - yes, I'm fine," she mumbled before gratefully accepting the girls hand.

Getting to her feet she pushed whatever had happened to the side and grabbed Hedwig's cage. Allowing the snowy owl to fly out she collapsed the cage before grabbing her trunk and making her way towards the manor with Susan beside her.

Entering the home it wasn't long for the house elves to arrive and disappear with their items leaving them to make their way to the living room where the others had already arrived and were being greeted by their family.

"Susan! Téa want took you both so long!" Shouted Sirius as he marched over and engulfed both girls into a strong hug. "Merlin we were about to send a search party to find you."

"Just - checking out the scenery uncle Sirius," Téa answered earning a confused look from Susan still the girl didn't pipe up.

"Come on, your mum and aunt are going to kill me if I hog you both too much," Sirius chuckled before pushing them over.

With a soft chuckle, Téa found herself swiftly engulfed in her mother's arms while Susan found her aunt's arms around her.

"Welcome home everybody, oh its so good to see you all, you all must be hungry!" Lily Potter exclaimed before pulling away from her oldest. "We've prepared some snacks for everybody, why don't you all go change out of your uniforms and meet us in the back garden."

Giving her mother one last hug, Téa hurried off with the others. Marching up the steps of the manor she arrived at the top floor and swiftly made her way to her room.

She had the biggest room of all the kids considering she was the oldest. She even had her own bathroom attached. Her room looked out over the gardens in the back and had been decorated a few years ago before she started Hogwarts. The room was beautiful with tall ceilings and floor to ceiling windows against one wall. The floor was hardwood with white fur carpets covering the floors. Her queen size bed was facing the wall of windows with a sitting area between them and a fireplace. Everything was in the creams and was calming.

Walking to the bed she slumped onto it and it didn't take her long to fall back and allow a tired sigh to leave her lips.

She didn't understand what was happening. Since she had left Hogwarts things seemed to be happening that she couldn't explain. The vision she had only moments ago had not been the first one. She had had dreams the night before about living at a place called Privet Drive with the aunt and uncle that she had never met and really had no wish to meet after those dreams she had. Then she continued to have visions, visions of herself at a younger age in different situations.

They were all very confusing and really she didn't know how to put them it just felt - she felt as though something was missing. Something very important was missing in her life, she just didn't know what.

Maybe she should have spoken up about them to her parents but - she didn't think they would be very important. They would probably go away and she could enjoy her nice normal life with her parents, dreaming of adventure.

Sitting back up she went to her closet and swiftly found some clean clothes. Changing out of her Hogwarts uniform, she hurried out of her room and down the halls of the castle. When she arrived downstairs, she found everybody already outside, talking and laughing. Standing there for a moment, she observed them.

Her family was a big one and not the most conventional family. They meant the world to her and really she didn't know what she would do without them.

(Up girl! Its Dudders birthday and I don't want the bacon to burn!)

The voice came from nowhere and for a moment, Téa didn't know what to do. When she noticed her uncle Sirius looking at her from outside she shook it off and gave him a smile that he returned.

Walking outside she was soon greeted by the other children, those who couldn't go to Hogwarts yet and it wasn't long before she was ushered off to play with them.

Later that night as the children were meant to be in bed, Téa snuck down to the kitchen. She hadn't been able to fall asleep and though a cup of cocoa would help her. Yet as she approached the kitchens, she swiftly heard the raised voices of not only her parents but the other adults as well.

Curious she stepped closer and listened into their conversation.

"Is Albus certain? Perhaps this is simply the prank of a witch or wizard who simply wanted their minute of fame." Amelia Bones remarked.

"He is certain Amelia, Severus was summoned to him only this night." Lily murmured sounding older then she had that day. "The Headmaster wants us to prepare for the unavoidable. If the Dark Lord Voldemort has indeed returned, we must prepare the children."

Eyes widening in horror, Téa stepped away from the door and covered her mouth to prevent any sounds from leaking out. This couldn't be happening, You-Know-Who alive again. How!?

(Now Potter, bow to me!)

Clamping her hands over her ears, she shut her eyes tight, the sounds returning and her vision blurring until without realizing it she slumped to the ground.

The visions continued until finally, they stopped and she was left slumped against the wall, body shaking with both fear and confusion. Whatever was happening to her, it wasn't good.

Slowly rising to her feet, she shakily made her way back to her room before the adults could see her. Slipping under her covers, she curled into a ball and pulled a pillow to her chest. She was scared, whatever was happening to her wasn't normal but would her parents believe her if she told them that she wasn't seeing visions of - what seemed to be a past that hadn't happened?

"What is happening to me?" She whispered softly into the empty room.

...

Diagon Alley was alive with all sorts of people. With it being the first day of summer holidays. It was also the first summer tradition of the Potter Family to head to Diagon Alley. This year was no different although Téa could tell that the adults were a bit tenser than normal.

She didn't blame them, she was as well. With the information that You-Know-Who had returned, she was a bit more on edge.

"Let's go to the Quidditch supply store!" Charles shouted before heading over.

Following after him, she entered the store and instantly found herself making her way towards the Firebolt display.

"You think you could handle that speed kiddo," her uncle Sirius asked making her turn to find him standing there looking at her with a grin. "Because I hear a certain somebody might be making Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor next year,"

"I know I could handle it, but dad wouldn't get it for me, I mean it's really expensive," Téa remarked earning a nod from her godfather.

"Well maybe you'll get one in time, but for now, why don't I treat my goddaughter and only quidditch fan of mine to a special gift. You just completed your O.W.L's after all and I think you deserve one," He remarked making her blush yet a smile danced on his lips as he moved towards the Seekers section.

When he picked up a practice Snitch, he gave her a curious look, which she shot a smile too.

"Well kiddo, let's go get this for you, every Seeker needs a way to practice, and this won't fly too far away from you considering it's just a practice one." He remarked before making the purchase at the counter.

Accepting the small box, Téa followed the others out of the store, practically floating on air. Just as they were about to head to their next destination though everything fell apart.

From no were people with black robes and white masks appeared causing screams and shouts of fear to fill the alley. Before she knew what was happening she was being pushed towards one of the stores with the other kids.

"Get into a store now!"

Hurrying to comply, Téa and Susan took the lead, bringing the younger children back into the Quidditch supply store where they were all hidden away from the windows and doors. Pulling her pack from behind her, she pulled the cloak from inside and without hesitation looked to the others. They all looked terrified by what was happening and a small part of her hoped that they did not know totally, what was happening.

"I need you lot to be quiet alright, this will hide you from sight but you need to stay still and stay quiet." She urged before motioning Susan to gather with them. "There isn't enough room under it for me as well, I'll get another hiding place."

"But Téa -" Protested Susan.

"Please Su, we don't have much time just stay under that cloak and stay quiet," She urged before throwing the cloak over them.

Once she was certain they were all covered she moved to sit under a window. Slumping onto her behind she shut her eyes and tightened her hold on her wand. The sounds from outside could be heard from inside, screaming and shouts. It was mass chaos outside.

(Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.)

(Don't be a fool, Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents ...they died begging me for mercy.)

(How touching... I always value bravery ... yes, girl, your parents were brave ... I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight ... but your mother needn't have died ... she was trying to protect you ... Now give me the stone unless you want her to have died in vain."

(Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed. The terror it inspired ... you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside. Everyone's worst fear ... the very worst.)

(Imagine that Voldemorts powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes and more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere ... panic ... confusion ... that's how it used to be.)

(Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself.

Slowly the visions - no memory faded and Téa was left sitting under a window, eyes wide in shock, mouth somewhat opened. This - everything made sense now. All the visions she had been having their weren't visions at all. The Kiss, the dementors, the lessons, maze, and Attor! Everything came rushing back to her. This wasn't her reality, as much as it hurt to think it was it wasn't. Her parents had died, she didn't have siblings, she didn't have the carefree life she had in this - this fake life.

Brushing the half-shed tears from her eyes, she practically flew towards the cloak. Pulling it away she threw her arms around each person under it. This might not be real - but it was an image of what could have been and even if it wasn't real, she would treasure it.

"Uh Téa what are you doing?" Charles asked confused by her change.

"I love you all okay," she whispered not able to stop the new set of tears that fell from her eyes. "And I'm proud of all of you,"

With that she throw the cloak back over them and before anybody could stop her ran from the shop.

As she arrived outside, her hand moved over the door causing a protective ward - basic it might have been - to shimmer into place.

Conscious settled she brandished her wand and with a grim look jumped into battle. Whatever this task was, she clearly hadn't attained the goal as she was still here but there was no way in hell that she was letting those kids die - even if they weren't real.

Shooting off spells, it didn't take long for her to be surrounded by three Death Eaters, each covered in their black cloaks in faces covered by porcelain white masks. In the corner of her eye, she saw her father trying his best to get to her yet ignored him. She most definitely could handle her own in this situation.

"What do we have here, little girl trying to play hero?" Came a mocking female voice.

"NO, a witch who can kick your ass," she growled before lunging forward catching the Death Eater off guard. Without hesitation, she punched the woman in the face, breaking the mask and at the same time the woman's nose.

As she howled in pain, a quick kick to the gut had her falling to the ground before she shot her with a stunner. "Call me little girl again and you won't remember today,"

Spinning towards the other two she easily took them down with a series of simple spells. Done with those three Death Eaters she was about to move on with her scar - which wasn't visible in this task - flared to life.

Pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead, she looked around in pain when her eyes landed on him. Standing there, looking as calm as a could be in the midst of battle. He was just like she remembered in real life, long flowing black robes against porcelain white skin. His eyes a glowing red even as they boar into her own emerald eyes.

"Well, well what do we have here, you girl took down three of my Death Eaters," he remarked, voice just as smooth as it was in real life yet still had the same effect of sending goosebumps up her spin.

"They weren't that great, must have been your lower class Death Eaters," she remarked, standing her ground against the man who was nothing but a monster.

For a moment, the man simply looked at her with a calculating gaze before his eyes narrowed and a sickening smile appeared on her face.

"You intrigue me, girl, name yourself," he ordered causing her to snort.

"Only if you admit what your name really is," she answered back, "because really to me you'll always be Tom Marvolo Riddle."

That seemed to do the trick, once again following the instructions of open mouth insert foot syndrome she was so very known for with the man who had killed so many. With a growl of anger, he swiftly sent a hex her way yet she was able to sidestep it while sending her own.

"I value courage in a follower girl yet I punish stupidity." He remarked yet she gave a snort.

"I know how you punish people Tom, Crucio here, crucio there, crucio everywhere but really if that's how you treat them it doesn't surprise me that they're such idiots in their own right. You probably killed all their brain cells." She countered before hurrying to put up a powerful protection spell followed by one of her darker spells.

All around them the battle seem to pause as those in the alley began to watch their exchange clearly more fascinated by what was going on there. She swiftly spotted various people she knew personally in her own reality, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick. Then there were her parents, Sirius, and Professor Lupin. Each one looked truly pale; her mother looked close to tears in fact.

She knew this wasn't real, her parents were dead. She had no siblings, and Sirius and Professor Lupin - she barely knew them. Still, she felt the hope of making her parents proud, the strength of wanting to protect her loved ones, the love for her family and friends was growing inside her and with it - her magic.

Spell after spell, she blocked and avoided, years of being chased by Dudley coming into play. Finally, she landed a powerful cutting hex of her own, which hit the man directly sending him stumbling back while blood splattered to the ground.

"I'm not afraid of you Tom!" She sneered, a spark in her eye that hadn't been there in a very long time. "No matter how many times you try to kill me or my friends I will fight you! I will protect those I love even if it means my life! I will never bow to a slimy psychopathic monster such as you!"

With that, her magic grew until with power she had never felt before was released, blasting everything back and causing her surroundings to melt into darkness.

Slowly coming to, Téa felt as though her whole body was weightless. Vision slowly returned to her, she helped at seeing Attors face only inches from her own.

"Bloody Hell Attor!"

"Mistress," hissed the serpent clearly relieved to see her awake. "I was beginning to worry; I awoke and found you hovering here,"

"What-" she whispered feeling confused until she realized that she was no longer in Diagon Alley, she had silvery white hair and not the once black hair. Then the true meaning of what she had gone through came crashing down.

Tears building in her eyes, she slowly sat up, wrapping her arms around Attor so that the serpent did not fall.

ÈWhat is wrong Mistress? You seem upset,"

"I - That - whatever it was - it showed me what could have been, what I could have had, a family." She mumbled tearfully before brushing the tears away, "Cruel and spiteful yet - I'm not as angry as I should be."

"You have matured Mistress, all of those challenges you have faced have made you stronger." The serpent declared a tone of pride in its voice.

Giving the serpent a smile, she finally looked up, to see where she had landed herself this time. The room she was in wasn't big and truly had nothing special about it.

Allowing her feeling to touch the ground, she was about to walk towards the doors when her book made its newest appearance. The moment it was in her hands the books cover opened and turned to the newest added information.

* Congratulations, you have not only passed the task's set by your teachers but you also passed the fourth challenge.

You were given a vision of what could have been yet you fought and in the end surpassed your unknown fear. Be proud young witch, you have joined the list of top players in this task.

Now it is time to face your fifth task. With four behind you and three more to go, you are getting very close to completing what many have tried to do.

The next task set before you will test your endurance, following your path and you will find your way.


	21. Chapter twenty-one

_**Chapter twenty one**_

 _ **I hate bitter weather**_

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

December came quickly for both Ron and Hermione, a bit too quick to be very honest. With the approaching estimated "end" day for Téa, they both became more and more recluse, which was swiftly noticed by staff and student alike.

Currently, both were in the room of requirements. Ron was punching a Dementor - in appearance – punching bag. Hermione was seated by the fire attention divided between Ron and her book.

"At least we found you a way to relinquish your anger," She remarked as Ron finished his workout.

Only dressed in a red muscle shirt and jogging pants, it revealed the well-formed muscle he had been gaining by doing the little bit of equipment the room was able to provide.

"Yes or else I would have punched Malfoy in the face for what he said," the red-headed boy growled before slumping onto a chair, towel around his shoulders.

"You can't let that get to you Ron; the boy is nothing but a slime ball," Hermione remarked with disdain clear in her voice. "Not to mention you trounced the ferret during our duel in Defence."

This statement made Ron chuckle in fondness. That event had truly made his day. Every time he thought about it, he smiled.

"Lupin even gave me a wink for that," Ron chuckled before grabbing pulling the towel over his head to get rid of the sweat. "What you doing anyway?"

"I'm compiling notes together for Téa. When she comes back she will have missed half a year and its O.W.L's" The brunette mumbled, "Silly really I mean –" "She'll love it Hermione, really you'll see." Ron interrupted making Hermione smile albeit a watery one. "She'll be back before you know it."

"I wonder how she's doing," Hermione mumbled while turning her attention to the fireplace and its dancing flames.

…

"Holly Fuck," groaned Téa as she looked behind her at the set of solid metal doors, which were blocking the trolls from entering. "Never again, never again am I running from damn trolls like that. Whoever came up with that is nuts,"

Straitening, she shook her head before looked around her. The room she now found herself in was similar to the first room she had arrived in yet this time she was behind the doors that lead to the pathway. Not far ahead of her was the pedestal that she would place the statue on.

Thanking her lucky star that she was finally done this section, she moved over the path before stepping up the small steps to the pedestal. Allowing Attor to slither back onto her wrist, she placed the statue back onto the pedestal. The moment she did, her book made another appearance, forming on her hands and opening to the next page.

 _ **Congratulations not only have you completed the fifth challenge you have set a new record as well**_.

"Joy," she grumbled while rolling her eyes in exasperation.

 _ **The next task for you to complete is beyond those doors.**_

Here she looked up in surprised, having not seen a set of doors before yet now she could see them. They were just beyond the pedestal. Shaking her head, she continued to read the book.

 _ **This challenge will be a tiny bit harder than the last, which is to be expected. U will follow the trail set for you through a new – world. At times, you will be forced to make a choice. Either path leads to completion yet one is much harder than the other.**_

 _ **Good luck and pick wisely.**_

Taking a deep breath, she put the book away before looking at the double doors. Two more tasks were set before her, the last ones. After this one, there would only be one left and then she could go home.

"I can do this," she told herself with confidence.

"Of course, you can Mistress; you will make it through this task, just as you have made it through the others." Attor hissed before slithering around her neck and resting there.

"Right," She murmured before taking a deep breath and marching forward. As she arrived at the doors, she pushed against them.

As they began to open, she walked through and no sooner did she do that did the cold hit her.

Feet sinking into snow, she could only stare at the vast expanse of arctic landscape in shock. All around there was snow, nothing else in site, just the snow that washed down upon, her swiftly covering her shoulders in the fluffy white substance.

Against her, Attor shivered before moving from around her neck to hide around her arm, in the small warmth of her cloak, warmth that was swiftly leaving her.

With shock swiftly being chased away by the cold that was sinking into her, Téa swiftly grabbed her wand, transfigured her clock into a warm parka, and was thankful when it worked. Pulling the hood over her head, she swiftly stuffed her hands into her pockets and was glad when she felt Attor slither up her arm to her shoulder.

"Snow, it just had to be fucking snow," she grumbled under her breath as Attor complained just as much not liking the cold one bit. "Whoever is organizing this has a sick sense of humor,"

"Perhaps some warming charms Mistress?" Attor suggested weakly and with a nod Téa swiftly obliged, applying a number of warming charms to warm them both. With that done, she had a bright idea and swiftly transfigured the sleeves of her parka to have gloves. Warming her hands a tiny bit more and protecting them from the snow and cold.

"This is going to be fun," she mumbled sarcastically before activating the point me spell hoping it would work. Thankfully, it pointed in one direction allowing her to have a lead.

Moving through the snow was not an easy task. With more snow, pelting against her as she walked and her feet sinking to her knees in snow every step she took was laboring and had her panting.

"So Attor anything to pass the time as I walk?" She asked yet the serpent said nothing. "Alright well, I can talk then. Let 's see, what about I tell you about my family,"

The soft nod she felt was her signal to continue and with a smile, she did.

"Alright, so my family isn't a normal one. We truly aren't related by blood yet in all terms we are family. First, there is Hermione. She's like a sister to me." Here an image of the older brunette filled her mind making her smile. "She's the brains, smart and talented. Top of our year and wildly considered the brightest witch of our age. Then comes Ron, he has a big family, five brothers and one sister. He is a quidditch fanatic and brilliant at Chess. He's the best in our year if not the school."

"Your friends seem nice." Attor whispered. "Oh look lights,"

Looking up from the snow, Téa squinted to see the small lights in the distance that Attor had seen. Spirits lifting, she continued towards it, her feet soon hitting icing and before she could regain her balance, she fell.

"Ow…" she moaned weakly. "From snow to ice, joy,"

Slowly pushing herself up, she shakily held her ground before sliding her feet forward. For a moment she waved yet she kept her ground. It was strange sliding on ice instead of walking but she soon got the hang of it.

"So after Ron comes my godfather, Sirius Black. I don't know him very well, considering the crappy thing that happened to him. Still, he gave me my firebolt and he does care for me. He was my father's best friend – or one of them. Then there is Professor Lupin. He was also my dad's friend. He's a werewolf and was only allowed teaching one year because nobody knew about his condition."

By now, she arrived at her first fork in the road. Two vastly different paths, one looked to be packed snow the other continued as ice. Apart from that, there was no sign of danger from either path yet she still had to make a choice.

With trepidation she chose to continue on ice, seeing how walking on packed snow would be easier. It was entirely possible that that meant the danger lay on that path.

Sliding over the ice, Téa continued to chatter softly until they arrived in what appeared to be a little Village of sorts. All the houses looked to be little huts made of straw and wood with one window and a doorway that had no door but a bamboo curtain. Snow covered everything, giving it a small beauty.

She had left the ice now and as she walked further into the village on packed snow she looked around somewhat disturbed by the entire place. Nobody was there, not one person – at least which is what it appeared.

"Something's not right," she whispered softly, making sure to hold tightly to her wand.

It was a gut feeling but she had had those in the past and following them had always saved her life. This time, would – most probably – be no different.

"I smell death," Attor hissed against her neck, "beware, Mistress, it is a similar smell as that of infiery,"

Warning in place, Téa moved forward consciously. She didn't really want to encounter more infiery yet from the corner of her eye she spotted something opaque.

Turning her wand shot up yet all she saw was a ghostly white child.

"Hello," she greeted feeling more than a little odd. She wasn't sure what the child. "I was just – passing through."

"Mistress be careful, even creatures who take the appearance of children can be dangerous."

"I believe that," she hissed before slowly backing away. "I'm going to leave now,"

Turning sharply on her heel she was about to run yet froze at the sight of more children ghost things. They had appeared silently and swiftly, surrounding her from all sides.

"Okay," she whispered feeling trapped. "Maybe not,"

Trying to think of a way out of this situation swiftly fled her mind when one after another began to smile. Her shoulders grew tense as she gazed at all their sharp pointed teeth that reminded her more of a shark than anything. These things were very much not children and she had a bad feeling that they were not good creatures.

Her feeling proved correct as with little warning the group lunged towards her. With nowhere to go, her only choice was to defend herself and really she didn't know what to use but Attors words hit her and before she could think about it, she raised her wand, fiendfyre on her lips.

In no time, the spell took rage, surrounding her in a storm of fire causing the creatures to scream and cry as they were burned by the dark flames. Yet as the flames worked to protect her, they also melted the snow around her and Téa was able to see something that made her skin crawl. Everywhere you looked, there were human skeletal remains, all having been hidden under the snow.

"They're carnivorous," she hissed to Attor before deciding it would be best to leave the village. Forcing a path, she hurried away from the creatures, flames by her side until she arrived a good distance away and was able to end her spell.

Panting slightly she shook her head in exasperation. That might have been the oddest damn creature she had met in this – place.

"I need to look those things up when I get back. Don't know if Voldemort will use those things or not," she grumbled while sending a look to the back to see if anything had followed. Thankfully, nothing had.

"Speaking to yourself Mistress?" Attor questioned amusement lacing her voice.

"No, I speak to you," she answered grumpily before continuing onto her route.

"Whatever you say, Mistress,"

Silently cursing the snake, Téa made sure to keep a close attention to her surroundings. If that had been some of the tests ahead of her she was, certain things wouldn't get easier.

Moving through snow, it felt like a mile later that she spotted something in the distance, a mountain of sorts. Frowning she pushed forward wanting to get out of this weather as quickly as possible.

…

December 21 was a busy day for students of Hogwarts. Many chose to remain at school, especially with the threat of war at their doorstep others chose to return home, hoping to spend time with family. One of those groups was the Weasley Family and Hermione Granger. Yet their case was different. They weren't just leaving to spend time with their families, they were leaving to return to Headquarters to see Téa. After all, she was supposed to be waking up before Christmas – if she was going to wake up.

It had been decided that the group would make their way to the Headmasters office where they would be taking the Headmasters privet floo and flowing to Headquarters. It was the easiest and safest way to get them away from Hogwarts. When they returned to the school, they would be doing the exact same thing.

Now though they were all waiting in the Headmasters office so that the connection could be made. Professor McGonagall was there while the Headmaster had been called away.

"Connection has been made; you all will go one at a time. Molly will be waiting for you." McGonagall announced earning nods from the group before they each made it through the fireplace.

Walking out into Grimmauld Place, Hermione swiftly moved aside to allow Ron to follow through behind her. The moment they did Mrs, Weasley - who seemed happy to see them all - engulfed them both.

Just as Ginny stumbled out though Professor Lupin – who had arrived earlier that morning – arrived downstairs looking pale.

"Molly ask Minerva for Poppy, something is happening to Téa," he ordered causing the Weasley Matriarch to pale and hurry to the fireplace.

Looking at each other Hermione and Ron swiftly ignored their items and hurried to follow Remus back upstairs. Arriving in Téa's room, they were horrified to find Sirius pulling blanket upon blanket over their friend's body.

"She's freezing!" He shouted in a panic. "I don't know what to do,"

"Poppy's on her way, let's just keep her warm for now." The Defense Professor hurried to say before helping to start a fire in the fireplace.

Moving into the room Ron and Hermione hurried to help in any way they could, straitening and tucking in the blankets so that they cocooned their friend. As the last blanket was placed over the teen Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall arrived in the room both looking pale and worried.

"What happened?" The Hogwarts matron hurried to question while moving towards the bed.

"She was doing fine, as normal as before until suddenly she started to get colder and colder." Sirius began to explain as the matron began waving her wand over the blanketed Potter Heiress. "Then her lips turned blue, I didn't know what to do. I pulled blankets over her, Remus started a fire but nothing seems to be helping."

"Her bodily temperature has gone down drastically, I can't tell what has caused it either. We need to keep her warm, that fire will help but it will not do. I think we will need to give her a hot bath, then change her in the warmest set of pajamas she can have. We will then put her back in bed with warm bottles under the mattress." Poppy hurriedly said making the rooms occupants pale.

"Miss Granger, it is a good thing you are here, you'll aid me with her bath, the rest of you getting the room ready," Poppy ordered before hurrying to the bathroom to pour a hot bath. Once full she was about to return to the bedroom when Sirius walked in, Téa in his arms – still wrapped in a blanket.

Hermione hurried in after him, ready to help in any way she could.

"Alright, Sirius, place her on the chair, we will handle it from here," Poppy ordered before patting the man on the shoulder. "We'll get you when we need to get her back in the bed."

With a fleeting look, the ex-convict left the room and shut the door.

"Alright Miss Granger, help me get her out of her garments and into the bath." Madam Pomfrey ordered earning a nod from Hermione whose face was a red as a tomato.

Doing away with covers and clothes, Hermione watched as Madam Pomfrey lifted Téa into the bath using her wand. Going to the bath, Hermione kept her friends head out of the water while the older woman made sure the water was sufficiently warm yet not boiling.

"What could cause this Madam Pomfrey?" she asked timidly earning a tired sigh from the older woman.

"I don't know Miss Granger. Nobody I have worked on has survived this long after being kissed by a Dementor. For all, we know it can be caused by something Miss Potter's soul is doing if it is all to be believed. It could also be that her body is finally failing but my scans showed nothing of that yet."

The answer was not quite satisfactory yet nothing else could be really expected. Pomfrey was right, this all was uncharted territory and if Téa actually did return, it would be completely unheard off.

"Seems the bath is doing the trick," Pomfrey murmured thoughtfully and Hermione had to agree. While her friend's skin had been as cold as ice before she went into the bath it was now normal – while it should have been hotter than that Hermione wouldn't complain. "keep her head out of water, I will go fetch those pajamas,"

With that, the older woman left the bathroom leaving Hermione alone with her friend.

Looking down at her friend's face, Hermione couldn't help but notice how her friend had changed. She was small then she had been before – which Hermione was hard press to believe considering how small she had been then. Still, she still looked relatively healthy. The biggest change was the girls long silver-white hair that replaced the black hair the teen used to have.

"Téa, you better be okay in there," she grumbled before the door re-opened and Poppy entered with a towel and pajamas.

"Let us get her out of the water and dry,"

With a wave of the woman's wand, Hermione gingerly held onto her friend's head as she was lifted from the water. Earning a nod from Pomfrey she grabbed a towel and began drying off her friend. Wrapping one around her hair she pulled it out of the way before continuing to dry. Once all done she dressed her in the fluffy purple pajamas and socks.

As she was placed on a chair, they spelled her hair dry and Hermione swiftly braided it, to keep it out of the way.

Once everything was done and cleaned up the door was opened by Pomfrey and Sirius walked in. Gingerly picking her up they brought her back into her room – which was much hotter than before. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, candles were lit here and there while many blankets set onto the bed.

As the teen was placed gingerly onto it, Sirius made sure she was in a comfortable position before pulling the blankets over her.

"She's still cold but not as much so as before; her inner core is warmer as well which is good to see," Poppy told them earning sighs of relief from the group. She should be fine for now if her condition changes in any way inform me."

"Thank you, Poppy, for your help," Remus sighed earning a smile from the woman.

"The amount of healing I have done on that girl – she would be missed in my infirmary. Already it feels odd, half the year has gone by and she hasn't been brought over for any reason." The matron remarked before leaving the room.

"Sirius – could Ron and I stay with her for a bit?" Hermione asked earning a nod from the man.

"Sure, you guys come and get us if anything happens." He agreed, earning a nod from Hermione before the adults left the room allowing Ron and Hermione to curl in chairs beside their friends.

…

Shivering violently, Téa wanted to reapply another warming charm to her body but had a feeling it wouldn't make a big difference. Thankfully, she had arrived at the bottom of the mountain. It took her little time to spot the entrance into the mountain mostly because it was via a set of very large – imposing – double doors that looked to be solid stone. Each was carved with beautiful detail of macabre.

Placing a cold hand against the door, she didn't expect them to open, yet they did, allowing her entrance into the mountain.

Moving in the doors shut behind her allowing a final gust of wind to pass by her yet as soon as it went through it seemed to light the torches on either side of the hallway. Although still cold, she was out of the wind and snow from outside which was a major relief.

"Much better, I did not enjoy that snow," Attor remarked while finally peeking through her parka. "I still do not enjoy this cold."

"I'm not either, but we're out of the snow and that's good," she remarked while grabbing a torch, hoping it would help warm her as she continued walking.

Slowly walking along she half expected something to jump out at her but thankfully, nothing did. Finally, they arrived at a fork in the road – or in this case tunnel. Looking at both sides, she could see nothing different about either passage.

"I guess I just pick one," she sighed tiredly. She had a feeling that magic would not help her pick a good path this time.

Going from right to left she finally chose the left path and kept moving on, a small bit of hope that the further she went into the mountain maybe she would gain a bit of heat. Still, it did not seem likely considering even with her torch she was still cold. Actually, it felt like it was getting colder.

Shivering at the chill that ran up her spine, Téa tried to calm herself but for some reason, the bad feeling she had been feeling since entering this damn mountain was growing.

"Mistress I hear something," Attor hissed making her tense and stop.

She couldn't hear anything but that didn't mean there wasn't sound. Snakes have no visible ear, so they didn't hear sounds like humans and other animals. Yet they were most definitely not deaf. Snakes had something in their heads that abled them to hear. It was attached to their jawbones, so they feel vibrations very well and may hear low-frequency airborne sounds.

"It's coming towards us, more than one," she continued making Téa frown.

"What direction? Should I go back?" she asked worriedly, yet just then she heard something that had her turning.

Raising her hand, she urged her magic forward allowing it to form a ball of fire before throwing it to the back. As it sailed through the air it lit the section behind her for a bit, just enough though to see just what the hell was behind her.

"Skeletons!" She exclaimed before they came into the light better showing that there were quite a few and each was dressed in Greek garb with swords and other weapons in their hands. "What the fuck am I supposed to do against Skeletons!"

"Run!" Attor hissed urgently and thankfully, she had enough sense not to dwindle.

With one last look towards the quickly approaching carcasses, she turned on her heel and began to run.

Author note:

From now on, the tasks will be going a bit quicker.


	22. Chapter twenty-two

_**Chapter twenty two**_

 ** _Always go diagnally_**

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

It was early morning as Hermione was rudely woken by a loud alarm sounding through the house. Confusion running through her she looked around for an explanation but found Ginny just as confused as she was.

Hurriedly climbing out of bed, they each grabbed their bed robes and hurried from the room to find Ron, Fred and George also hurrying from their rooms. Clearly, they were just as confused as they were and seeing as nobody was running up the stairs they ran to the baluster only to freeze in shock.

On the main level of the house, Order Members were all hurrying from the house fully dressed. The only one left behind was Mrs. Weasley who looked pale and stricken.

Looking at each other the children hurried down the stairs to find her in tears.

"Mum, what happened?" Ron moved to ask only to have his mother embrace her in her arms.

"Mum?" Ginny whispered not used to seeing their mother like this.

"I think she needs tea, come on let's put the kettle on." Hermione urged before Ron led his mother down into the kitchen with the others.

As he settled her into a chair Ginny and Hermione got to work in preparing a cup of tea for the clearly distort woman. Placing it in her hand's they urged her to take a sip and were glad when she finally seemed to calm slightly.

"What happened, mum?" Ron finally asked hoping that they could get answers.

"Diagon Alley -" Molly hiccupped yet she could not continue as she burst into a fresh set of tears. Still, she didn't have to say much more.

"Attack on Diagon Alley," Hermione whispered connecting the dots and looking horrified. That horror grew as she turned to check the time only to find that it was later then what she had thought. "Diagon Alley opened a half an hour ago, they'll be people already there!"

"The Order went to help defend it -" Ron grunted before shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "The only reason mum would be like this is because dad, Bill and Charlie went as well."

This had everybody falling silent with the exception of Mrs. Weasley who seemed to grow louder in her sobs. Looking at each other the kids felt rather at a loss. Neither of them had ever dealt with a sobbing and distraught Mrs. Weasley like this before. Hermione had never seen the woman like this and the Weasley Children were used to their father handling her if she ever was like this.

"Mum, listen, Dad, Charlie and Bill are going to be fine okay," Ron finally spoke while placing two strong hands on his mother's shoulders. "They'll come back; they're too good wizards not to. I mean, Charlie handles Dragons all day, Bill, he's a Curse Breaker, I'm sure there have been plenty of things that he has done that are dangerous."

"I'm just so worried –" the older woman sobbed making Ron smile sadly.

"So are we, but we need to believe in them. They aren't alone either, Remus – the Best Defence Professor we've ever had – is there, so is Sirius and that guy can duel – Moody, Tonks, Dumbledore will no doubt be there, so will other members of the Order and Aurors. They'll have this covered you'll see." Ron continued before bringing his mother into his arms for a hug.

For his effort, he earned a soft set of sniffles while Mrs. Weasley clung to him tightly.

"Alright, why don't I make us some food, I don't think any of us are going to be going back to bed anytime soon." Hermione murmured before standing and walking over to the stove.

…

As Order Members arrived at Diagon Alley they were all met with a picture of despair. Buildings were burning; others were so damned they were almost falling down. People were all over the place, crying and scared as Aurors tried their best to repair the damage done.

"Looks like it was a flash hit," Moody grunted as his one magical eye flew around its socket. "Don't see any Death Eaters around but that could be because their pretending to be the victims."

"For now, we don't worry about that; we worry about Diagon Alley and its people. The stores probably opened early that's why there are so many people already here." Sirius grunted tiredly.

"Probably thought it would be safest to go out early morning," Remus agreed before drawing a deep breath. "I suspect we should put our survives to aid,"

"I'll agree there," Sirius conquered before making his way to one burning building with Remus.

As groups, the Order followed suit, going to various places to aid. As Sirius moved from the first building he spotted something in the corner of his eyes. Eyes narrowing, he moved towards it until he saw just what IT was. There kneeling behind on old crate was a child, no older than five or six. She looked as frightened as a kitten.

"Hi there," he greeted softly - tenderly even. "I'm Sirius, I'm here to help the Aurors protect Diagon Alley. Do you know where you mum is?"

"No - She told me to run. I hid here." The little girl sniffled while bigger tears fell from her blue eyes.

"Alright, why don't I help you find your mum?" He suggested while extending his hand.

"You won't -" The little girl sniffled again, this time, the tears flowing down her chubby cheeks as her shoulders began to shake. "The men is black cloaks took her away!"

Shutting his eyes, Sirius felt a weight settle upon his chest. Clearly, damage had not been the only thing on the Death Eaters minds when they attacked Diagon Alley. They also wanted to take hostages as well. He knew all too well how those hostages often turned out and he knew there was little hope of finding this girl's mother alive or in any shape to look after a child.

"Alright, why don't you come with me so that I can get you to somebody who could help you? We'll make sure nothing happens to you okay," Sirius whispered while re-opening his eyes.

"We'll you stay with me?" She asked timidly and really Sirius didn't know why - it might have been the fact that the little girl had fiery red hair and blue eyes and was so very adorable - but he gave a nod of agreement.

Thankfully that was all it seemed to take as the little girl hurried to him, and he gingerly picked her up. Placing her on his hip, he made sure he had a secure hold on her before moving through the Alley. As he went, he helped here and there, still able to use his wand arm as the little girl clung to him, her head on his shoulder watching as he helped.

Just as they finished putting out Madam Malkins, Sirius heard his name being called out.

"Sirius," came a soft female voice that brought Sirius turning away from the newly doused Madame Malkins to find Amelia Bones standing there.

She looked beautiful, although that was probably because he had always found the woman before him attractive. Still, the day's events had affected her more than she was letting people see. Sirius could tell, he had spent enough time with the woman to know that.

"I – Thank you," the voice finally continued before Amelia Bones stepped into his line of sight.

"For what?" He asked, voice holding little emotion as he tried to ignore his heart.

Yes, it had been fifteen or so years since he had really had a full conversation with the woman before him but it wasn't the first time he was seeing her. He shouldn't suddenly be feeling the emotions that had raced through his mind all those years ago – before Azkaban.

"You didn't have to – help today. With what the Ministry did to you it wouldn't have been unimaginable to other that you didn't help but you did." She remarked yet Sirius gave a shrug of the shoulders.

"I'm here because it's what I believe in. I never believed in the Death Eaters, I believe that everybody is equal no matter their blood, race, or whatever type of creature they are." He remarked while looking around the broken Alley.

"Indeed - may I ask about this little one in your arms?" She asked curiously causing Sirius' eyes to fly from Amelia to the little girl in his arms who had buried her face in his neck as though to hide from the new people she didn't know,"

"Found her crouched behind a crate. She says she was here with her mother but she also told me that Death Eaters took her. I told her I would stay with her until I could get her somewhere safe."

"I see, perhaps we can get her to her father." Amelia sighed tiredly yet this seemed to make the little girl look up at Sirius.

"I don't have a papa," she admitted making Sirius gulp while Amelia grew even soberer.

"I - Dumbledore has agreed to shelter orphans at Hogwarts," Amelia finally spoke, her voice low and filled with resignation.

"I'll bring her there once I finish helping here," Sirius grunted before moving to return to work yet he was swiftly stopped by Amelia's hand on his unoccupied shoulder.

Turning back to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he watched as she hurriedly extracted her hand as though now just realizing what she had done.

For a moment she didn't speak, and Sirius was about to continue on his way when she finally did speak.

"Sirius – would you consider returning to the Ministry. As an auror that is. We could truly use your help." She explained earning a raised eyebrow from the ex-convict.

"You want me to go work for the person who tried to have me kissed? The body that had me sentenced to Azkaban without trial? Amelia nothing against your leadership skills but I don't think I could ever – ever work for the Ministry of Magic again." He grunted eyes narrowed in anger before they grew tired and he looked away. "Also – our past together brings in more complications than one would imagine." He answered softly so that she could hear him and no one else. "I will continue to aid in battles Amelia, but I will not return to the Auror Force,"

His point made, Sirius turned fully away from the proud woman and walked off. As the child looked up, her eyes met Amelia who gave her a small sad smile which earned the older woman a smile of her own and soft wave from the little girl.

It was an hour later, with a softly dozing child in his arms, that Sirius finally left Diagon Alley. With Hogwarts at the for front, he spoke to Tom who graciously agreed to allow him access to his privet floo.

Flowing into the Headmasters office was something he was used to and as he stepped out, he spotted the aged Headmaster sitting behind his desk.

"Ah Sirius, how is Diagon Alley fairing after the attack?" He questioned before noticing the child in his arms. "And may I ask who this young lady is?"

"Diagon Alley is doing - well it needs repair. Several shops were burned or damaged, there are casualties and some people are still missing including this young one's mother and only parent." Sirius explained before drawing a deep breath and continuing. "Thankfully none of the other alleys attached to Diagon were damaged as the wards swiftly went up to stop further advancement and damage. As you well know, the anti-apparition wards fell when those wards took effect. A measure to get innocent people out of the way as quickly as possible yet it also giving the Death Eaters the ability to escape as well."

"A flaw in our defenses for certain, now about the child?" The aged Headmaster questioned.

"Her mother was taken, as I said - Madam Bones informed me that you were taking in orphans of war," Sirius remarked earning a tired sigh from the Headmaster before he stood from his desk.

"Indeed, indeed, come; let us bring her first to the Infirmary. I dear say Madame Pomfrey would not be satisfied until she knew that the child was unharmed in any way." Dumbledore advised before leading Sirius from his office.

"I understand there was an incident here at the school during the attack," Sirius remarked as they arrived in the halls.

"Indeed my boy, Dementors approached the castle, thankfully we acted fast, even with the few students here during the Christmas halls, we were able to lock down the school and warn Hogsmeade. From there the Dementors were swiftly chased away." Dumbledore explained as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Damned creatures," Sirius grunted, as he thought about his goddaughter who was lying in a bed at Grimmauld Place.

Thankfully it didn't take long for them to arrive at the Hospital wing and as they did they were swiftly approached by Madame Pomfrey who looked warn.

"I've ordered the House Elves to deliver hot cocoa to all students," she informed them before noticing the child in his arms.

"Thought we'd bring her to you, for now, she'll be staying in the castle," Sirius remarked while gingerly placing the child on the bed, sadly the moment he did she awoke and looked around in a panic. That subsides as her blue eyes landed on Sirius and she seemed to relax.

"Little one, I've brought you to Hogwarts, this here is Madam Pomfrey and this here and Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. They'll be making sure that you are healthy and settled here in the castle." Sirius hurried to assure her earning a nod from the child.

"Can I ask your name child?" Dumbledore asked and for a moment Sirius felt very foolish, he had spent a full hour with the child in his arms and yet he didn't even know what her name was.

"Allison sir, Allison Shay,"

"Well Allison, welcome to Hogwarts, for now, it will be your home. After we are assured you are in good health, we will have a Professor and a set of Aurors accompany you home to gather some items."

"Sirius -" the little girl whispered, worry clear in her voice as she looked at the man who had held her. "You going to stay?"

For a moment, Sirius didn't really know what to say. He knew he couldn't really stay, he had responsibilities at home with Tea that he wouldn't give up for the world but this little girl had nobody either.

"How about I visit you?" He offered, earning a wide eye expression from the child before she gave a soft nod of approval. "Good, I'll visit and if you ever need me you just go to either Madam Pomfrey here or Professor Dumbledore, they'll be able to get to me okay,"

"Okay," she whispered before scrambling from the bed and hugging Sirius. "Thank you,"

The words were whispered so softly that Sirius barely heard yet he felt his chest tightened and a smile tug at his lips before he returned the hug.

"You're welcome little one," he murmured before letting her go and helping her lay back down on the bed so that Madam Pomfrey could take good care of her. "Remember, you just need to ask,"

With a nod from the little girl Sirius rose and left the hospital wing. Brushing a tear from the corner of his eye, he mumbled about turning soft before heading towards the Headmaster's office.

He needed to get back so that he could make sure Tea was okay.

…

Running from skeletons that had swords and other types of weaponry were not part of Téa's to do list. Nor was the fact that said skeletal beings seemed not to be affected by any of the spells sent their way.

That in its own right was very frustrating, no infuriating actually.

"These things won't let up!" She exclaimed while running around a sharp corner. "What the hell are they expecting me to do!? Nothing bloody working!"

"All you can do is run Mistress! I do not feel like being the barbecued snake!" Attor exclaimed making Téa snort – even in the situation, she found herself in.

"I'm confident they won't barbecue you Attor, plus no offense but you're dead." She remarked with amusement before finding herself at the top of a large staircase.

Looking back showed the army of bones not far behind her and catching up rapidly. Taking a deep gulp of air, she knew she had one chance to go faster, and so hurried to the handrail. Swinging one leg over she rested against it just enough so that she could slide easily before allowing gravity to send her down the large staircase.

As she zoomed down she couldn't stop the gleeful laugh that left her lips and it was with a sad pout she arrived at the bottom and had to get off.

Not bothering to look how far the small army was now, she turned on her heel and hurried off. As she ran through the halls of stone, her thoughts escaped her and soon Dudley popped into her head. Maybe she should thank Dudley when she got back to her body. Téa hunting seemed to be saving her life.

Shaking her head she turned a corner and no sooner had she done so did one side of the wall give way revealing a wide-open area with caves and dark pitfalls.

Continuing on her own path, she had to stop her eyes from wondering, she didn't want to fall down the side of her mountain trail, not only would it hurt, but she didn't know what was at the bottom of if she would survive the fall.

"Just don't look down," she panted, the run starting to really take effect.

Still, it wasn't like she could just stop running, every time she thought they were gone, she heard them in the distance getting closer.

"Mistress look!" Attor exclaimed forcing her head up from the ground.

Looking right ahead, she saw a set of silver gates in the distance. The doors were opened and a sense of relief flooded her system until she looked back to find the skeletal warriors even closer than before. How that happened she didn't know but they were getting closer. Close enough that she felt a sword swipe at her cloak transfigured jacket.

"Damn, it's like they got on energy boost!" She yelped yet she tried her best to push herself even more. "How the hell do they do it! I mean fuck their bones!"

"Magic Mistress, now hurry we don't want to be killed by skeletons now do now do we," Attor hissed making her snort.

"Their gaining too quickly, how the hell - wait! OH, I am so going to regret this!" She growled, an idea swiftly forming in her head.

Aiming her wand towards the stone wall beside her, she swiftly began muttering blasting hexes. The result was what she wanted, stones falling into the narrow path around her forcing the skeleton warriors to slow down as they slipped and fell. With a bit more space between them, she thanked her lucky star yet no sooner had she done that did the sound of rumbling reach her ears.

Looking up the sight of large boulders tumbling down the hillside had her eyes widening and panic filling her. Looking back towards the doors she found herself swiftly approaching and thankfully the skeleton warriors were still far enough behind her that she had little worry for them.

"Find a solution for one thing yet cause a whole new set of problems." She bemoaned knowing she had to boggy her butt off if she wanted to avoid the boulders that were falling.

"I hope you have a better plan, Mistress!"

"Hey, that plan was a good one I just never took into consideration that bigger boulders would fall!" She shouted to her friend. "I don't have a plan to stop them!"

"Well do something because I don't think you'll make it to the gates in time if you don't!" Attor grumbled before thinking of something. She didn't have much time though as the boulders were getting closer and closer.

How the hell did you avoid massive boulders when you were running from skeletal warriors!? Two forces coming upon her so quick she barely had time to think of a way to get away from them combined unless - dogs!

"Please let this work!" She prayed eyes shut hoping that Attor could make sure she didn't run into anything.

Continuing to run and doing human transfiguration on oneself would not be the first choice that Tea had as something to do but today she had no choice and really she just couldn't fail.

Gathering her magic she thought about the animal she had had so much practice turning into before planting both her feet on the ground and jumping.

Feeling the wind in her hair the sensation swiftly turned from freedom to the oddest sensation one would feel as her human body turned into that of a large black dog. With a triumphant bark, she landed on the ground and with more speed ran towards the gates leaving behind the skeletal warriors and thankfully the boulders as she passed through them.

Only seconds after she passed through the gate a large boulder fell before it, blocking any exit or entrance to the gate and stopping the skeletal warriors in their tracks.

Gleefully barking at the bolder, she couldn't stop the chuckles from leaving her lips as she turned back to her human form. Why she hadn't thought about using Human Transfiguration before was beyond her but she was ever glad she had learned the subject during her lessons.

"Never - ever do that again!" Attor complained as she bent over to take large gulps of air, a strange mixture of chuckles also leaving her.

"I - I don't plan on it!"

Taking a few minutes, she settled against a wall and just allowed herself to gather her breath once more. All that running was getting to her, how she hadn't felt it before was beyond her but now, now it felt as though she hadn't had a proper breath in eons.

"Maybe I should get into this whole running thing when I get back to my body," She panted before looking to her right to find the new path before her.

Wherever it led, she didn't know, much like the entire journey she had faced so far. Yet the path before her was dark, with no light to make the journey lighter. She also had a feeling it wouldn't matter if she did and that her magic wouldn't light her way this time.

"Right, next part of this task," she finally grunted before pushing herself up into standing position.

Feeling much warmer, thanks to her run, she transfigured the jacket back into a cloak before beginning walking forward. Entering the darkness she walked on and on until finally, the light illuminated a set of steps carved into the rock itself. Taking them down she felt the temperature grow and grow until she knew she was sweating.

Turning a corner any further journey was cut short as she was met by a set of large double doors. Slowly approaching the intimidating structure she soon found that words had been inscribed upon them.

 _ **Beware, young traveler, your journey ends, yet one more task is set to play. Remember not to waver nor lie, or he shall claim your soul and you shall never return home.**_

Gulping edible at the small inscription, Téa turned to Attor who gave her an encouraging nod. Stepping forward she pushed the doors open and as she stepped through them the blaze and heat of the new room had her stumbling.

Coughing at the hot air, she did her best to look around only to be taken aback by her surroundings. Destruction, chaos - hell. That was all she could really say about it. Until the eye could see no more there was nothing but destruction and large creators that glowed red from magma. Once a city had lay, now was nothing but destroyed buildings.

"This is -" yet she couldn't speak, she just simply couldn't describe what she was seeing.

* * *

 **Author note:**

 **Hello, everybody! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, it was giving me a harder time than I thought it would! Also, a special somebody was making their displeasure deeply known! You know who you are! Haha, it's okay it made me work on the chapter anyway! Wish me luck for the next chapter, I don't think it will be up this week coming but you never know.**


	23. Chapter twenty-three

_**Chapter twenty three**_

 ** _War brings changes_**

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

It was late afternoon as Amelia Bones made her way to the interrogation rooms set up for those who had been captured during the attack on Diagon Alley. Two Aurors, stopping any from leaving or entering who were not allowed, guarded every door.

Arriving at room 162, she gave a nod to both Aurors on guard before stepping through the doorway. Entering the room, she paid no mind to the man sitting behind the table. Instead, she chose to keep her gaze settled on the documents in her hands. Silently she walked over to the table and settled into the opposing seat.

Settling the documents down, she finally looked up. Her piercing gaze met his own fidgeting one and she swiftly began to take in the man before her.

The man was handsome – thought Amelia. A strong chin, warm brown eyes and dark blonde hair, he could have been somebody she would have gone out with if she had been younger. Yet that was not what interested her at the moment. He was a strong fellow and for some odd reason, she could not picture this man working in a bookstore as his file said he had until a week ago.

At the moment, his strength was put aside as he looked rather nervous. His jaw and hands were clenched not with anger but with the hopes of not saying anything. His left foot was bouncing up and down while his forehead had a shine to it.

"You were fired from your last job because you missed three days of work," she remarked comely surprising the man. "Three days of work that coincide with the full moon of this month. Your temper has grown, as people we have spoken to have informed us that you are usual a very nice person to speak with."

Here the man seemed to grow pale, yet Amelia didn't care at that point. Looking down at her folder she pulled on out and placed it ontop of the others.

"Mister Andrew Tomson, born November 3rd, 1965 to a Janice Tomson nee Deverson and Henry Tomson. You were sorted into Gryffindor where you became top of your year in Charms, Transfiguration and Potions; you pulled in third in Defense Against the Dark Arts and passed Herbology, and Ancient Runes with good marks. Your professors gave you glowing recommendations, especially when you applied to join the Auror Programme after you graduated. Yet I see here your application was denied. Never made it past the first inspection which is curious considering your talent in the area and the fact we needed Aurors at the time."

"You are not here because you are a werewolf Mister Tomson" – she began before realizing that the way she was saying things was not making it sound any better." - Actually let me rephrase that, I do not care that you are a werewolf. Today my Aurors say you defend a young family from a Death Eater, taking him down swiftly and efficiently. You are here today Mister Tomson to answer one question. Do you still have an interest in joining the Auror Programme?"

This question was met with dead silence and finally Amelia looked up at the man sitting before her. She instantly took in his shocked expression. It was clear to her that he had not been expecting that question and she had to give him a smile to reassure the poor man.

"I – I don't understand," Tomson finally spoke, even though he sounded just as shocked as she expected. "You've already figured out that I'm – well a werewolf, what – why would you offer me a position in the Auror Programme?"

"Because Mister Tomson, I don't care. You have a problem once a month; you take three days off once a month because of it. Every other day of the month you are perfectly safe and capable of thinking for yourself, do magic and defend others." She remarked before sitting back and folding her hands one on top of the other. "In actuality, your werewolf gene now gives you extra abilities that would only help you in the Auror program. The enhanced hearing, speed, strength, they are all qualities that would make a fine auror and I believe that – if you are willing – you would make a fine addition to my department."

"Ma'am – don't know what to say." He whispered making her snort.

"Simple, yes or no, I already have two other werewolves who have agreed," Amelia revealed which caused Tomson's eyes to grow wide.

"Bloody hell – I mean yes ma'am! I would be honored to join the force!" He finally exclaimed making Amelia smile.

"Good to hear, now I expect you to report to the Ministry at 6 AM tomorrow morning, you'll be meeting the other recruits there for the start of your training. I might add that we are at war Mister Tomson, this won't be a full-out auror training program as it normally takes three years but times of war bring times of need and we need Aurors." She remarked before standing and extending her hand to the man. "Welcome to the force Mister Tomson,"

"I won't disappoint ma'am," He hurried to say before shaking her hand.

Giving him one last smile, she gathered the documents and left the room, satisfied that she had at least enlisted three new Aurors up to date. She hoped that more would be coming in future.

…

She had never been in something so – nightmarish – was that even a word, thought Téa as she looked around at her surroundings. The town – if she could really call it that – was a combination of all sorts of buildings placed into sections.

When she had started the journey through the village, it had felt like she had been going through a Japanese feudal era market yet with no vendors out, not a soul actually. Yet the alley wasn't simply abandoned, it looked like it had seen battles, some buildings were burned, others looked to have had chunks blown off by a blasting hex. There were scorch marks on the paved ground while the dirt under her feet had swiftly turned to mud.

From there had been what looked to have been parts of France, then an eastern sort of market where she had been walking through sand. From there came what looked to be an old western town.

Now she had entered another – section. It was different in architecture as she recognized the European style, yet it was different as well. Old, very old and everything looked to have been destroyed, there were piles of rubble, half-destroyed buildings, and some even had fire damage. What shocked her were the multitude of bullet casings on the ground. She was certain that if she looked closer she would have seen the bullet holes in the walls.

Just as she walked past the destroyed remnants of a tank, she found herself walking into an all too familiar section. Yet the familiarity swiftly vanished, as she stood frozen in place. She knew this place, all too well. She had spent part of her summer after her second year roaming its shops and meeting various people. Yet just like the other sections this place, this – Diagon Alley – held damage to it she had never once seen before. Parts had clearly been hit with blasting hexes, chunks of the ground were gone leaving craters, and other stores were burned.

"What – what is this…" she whispered hoarsely, her eyes staring around her, taking everything in that she could see. Yet everything she saw made her stomach role on itself.

"Welcome, Téaleon Potter, to the Path of Destruction," greeted a male voice causing Téa to turn only to find no one there. Turning back, she had to take a step back as she was finally welcomed by a man who had not been there before.

The man was handsome, tall with broad shoulders and a muscled physic. His black hair fell to his shoulders like that of a lion's mane and seemed to melt into beard that was closely shaven. He was dressed simply enough in a pair of leather pants, and a loose cotton red shirt that was open at the top showing some chest hair.

Whoever this man was, her magic had her on edge and she could see – just by looking into the man's eyes that he was dangerous. Very dangerous and not someone she wanted to mess with.

"You have intrigued me," he remarked, eyes never leaving hers. "The first witch born in England to make it this far in many years, many, many years. Now the question remains will you make it further,"

"I plan on it," she growled, earning a chuckle from the man yet the chuckle wasn't a happy one, filled with dark temptation and faux happiness which made her skin crawl as though a thousand ants were covering her skin.

"This man is dark Mistress," Attor finally hissed and Téa had to agree with her friend.

"Your friend is right," the man remarked startling Téa as she had not expected the man to understand the small serpent. "That is one of the things that have intrigued me about you Téaleon. Your choice in companion is very – odd, yet it is very complimenting of your style."

"My apologies, you seem to know who I am yet I have no idea who you are, furthermore, what is the Path of Destruction?" She finally asked, gathering enough courage to do so.

For a moment the man simply stared at her, his penetrating gaze making her feel all too transparent yet she did not back down, she couldn't. Just when she thought, she would lose though the man turned his gaze to the scene around them.

"The Path of Destruction," The man began, "is built from the destructive acts of humanity, most specifically the magical world. Japan's once beautiful Haru No hana, now nothing but a memory and part of History; it was destroyed in World War 2 when American wizards brought down the wards surrounding the magical alley. Sadly the wards would not have made a very large difference," the man remarked before shaking his head. "Germany's Reich Spur destroyed in World War 1, the once notable magical village known as Aashcharyon kee galee, which was in the center of what is now Pakistan and India's border, was destroyed when the two separated."

"So this – this shows various places that have been destroyed, gone forever?" She asked.

"Some are gone forever, others are not, for instance, the Callegjon de la magic, in Spain is as strong and beautiful as every yet faced almost near destruction, just like Italy's Guerriero Vicolo and the newest addition and the part we find ourselves in at the moment, Britten's Diagon Alley." The man answered, his arms extending as though showing her the entire alley in its destroyed state.

Eyes widening in horror, Téa looked around at the alley she had visited since she had entered the Magical World. She never – ever thought she would see it in such a state, perhaps it was the total emptiness of it that made it feel even worse but she felt – deep sadness.

"How many people were killed?" She whispered, eyes dancing over the destroyed shops.

"Like every other act of war," the man remarked before motioning her to follow him. "You have proven your worth by making it past all the challenges I have placed before you. You fought against your own fears, impressed your teachers and shown great talent, wisdom, and passion. Your goal is – clear."

"My goal is that I want to return to my body, I think all those kissed by a Dementor have the same goal," she remarked before her hands flew to her stomach as a flash of pain seared through her.

Gasping in pain, she shut her eyes; it was only when the man beside her placed a hand upon her shoulder that the pain received slightly. Looking up at him, she knew confusion was written clear on her face yet he simply gave her a smile that was far from reassuring.

"You're finally feeling the pains I see," he remarked comely, "your pain tolerance is high considering you should have been feeling this pain during your escape from my skeleton guards."

"What – what is this pain?" she asked confused as she slowly rose back to her full height.

"The pain of your body slowly but surely giving away." He remarked causing her eyes to widen. "Now come, I must show you something,"

"I still don't know who you are," she whispered earning a chuckle.

"You'll learn in due time now let us keep moving, we have little time," he remarked an air of doom coming from him that had Téa gulping yet she braced herself and did as told, walking beside the man as they made their way deeper into the destroyed city.

Finally, the city began to give way to reveal a destroyed garden with old Grecian pillars. Slowly walking deeper, neither spoke until finally, they came to a stop before a large platform. Round in shapes, tall –-undamaged – pillars went high into the sky while a series of steps lead up onto the platform.

Following the man up the steps, Téa felt her magic tingle for some odd reason until finally; she arrived on top of the platform. If one looked down they would find that the platform was etched in detailed runes and drawings, all connected together.

"What is this place?" she asked softly knowing that this place felt very different compared to the other part of the city.

"This is where we will learn if your soul will indeed return to your body. You must pass one last test, a test of magic, and only if you pass will I grant you return to your body." The man remarked before leading her to the center of the platform. "Stand here," he ordered before placing her just where he wanted her before stepping back.

Looking up at him in confusion, she wasn't certain what she was expecting considering he didn't explain any of what she was supposed to do. All he did was give her a grin before she suddenly felt the magic around the area spike. Before she could move, magic surrounded her from all sides in a pillar of power that burned and sent her nerves screaming worse than she had ever felt even more so then the curciatus curse. Soon, though, she succumb to darkness, the pain coming to be too much.

…

Sirius gave a tired sigh as he sat back in his chair. Christmas Eve, he should have been sitting by the fire with his goddaughter, telling her stories about her parents and giving her, her first gift; instead, he was sitting by her bed, as her body slowly but surely was losing the battle.

Brushing a strand of silver hair from the teen's eyes, he allowed himself to rest on his knees when the door opened. Turning he was surprised when Amelia entered the room yet did not object when she walked over to stand by his side.

"You've never met her have you," he remarked, not even bothering to make it a question.

"I – no," she admitted. "I know I should have,"

"You are her Godmother Amelia," he grunted tiredly. "She doesn't even know that she's been in our world for five years now and not once did you choose to approach her, why?"

"I – believed she was better with her relatives, I chose to believe that she was better there than what I could offer. Already work to many hours and I don't give Susan as much attention as I should." Amelia spoke before letting a tired sigh leave her lips. "I should have approached her, spoken to her at the very least. Now I might not get that chance and that will be something I regret for the rest of my life,"

"You know what she said when I offered to take her in only minutes after meeting her during her third year?" He asked the woman, sounding far too tired. "She said yes, she said it so quickly she didn't even think about it. Makes you wonder what her home life is actually like,"

At that, Amelia didn't really know what to say. Instead, she remained quiet and looked at the teen on the bed. Would things have been different if she had approached the teen? Would she be in this state? Would they be facing war?

"Tell me about her Sirius," she requested while grabbing a chair and sitting down.

"She loves to fly," he remarked making her smile, "which is funny because she's terrified of heights," he chuckled.

…

Sore, that was what she felt at that moment. Her entire body was sore and ached from Morgana knew what. Slowly, opening her eyes, Téa had to blink back the blurriness before she found her vision blocked by a face.

Eyes growing wide in shock she whelped before shoving the person away. Before he could respond, her wand was in her hand and the tip glowing as she glowered down at him.

"What the fuck was that!" she hissed angrily, her body protesting the movement yet she didn't care at the moment.

"That was the blessing you needed," the man answered before shooting her a grin that made her right eye twitch. "Now you have the markings that will allow you to return to your body,"

"Markings –" she questioned unsure what the hell this man was talking about.

"Look at your hands," was the simple answer and hesitantly she raised her free hand and looked at it. What she found had her hurrying to stare at the other one as well.

Where her skin had once been unmarked, it was now marked in small white runes that circled her wrists while the palms of her hands held a circle medallion of sorts. Slowly running a finger over one of the markings, she felt a hum of satisfaction from her magic as though it approved of the runes being there.

"What are these?" she asked curiously.

"They're marking that allow your magic to be used at its fullest potential. Already wandless magic was easy for you, I spotted that but now it will become second nature." He answered before pushing himself to his feet and aiding her to hers. "Your magic flows through you more freely now, not restrained as it normally is. It will take time to control this as you will notice your spells hold more power behind them but I am sure you will accommodate to the difference within due time. Now take note, you are not more powerful than you were before, you are simply able to control and concentrate that magic to have a stronger effect."

"Will they transfer to my body?" she asked with confusion earning a chuckle from the man.

"That is where I come in," he announced proudly. "With agreement from magic herself, I have been given the okay to send you back to your body. Now your body is currently in a state – although better than most – that won't survive your soul returning. That is why I have chosen to aid your body. Your magic is now active in your body, healing it before your soul makes the journey back. When it returns it will be able to survive. Take note that your recovery will take time, but your magic will make it so that the body you have now, the strength you have gained will transfer. Now there is one last thing I can do, and I think it will be a surprise." The man remarked making Téa's posture tense before she looked to Attor who had slithered over her head to hang over her eyes.

"Oh Attor," she hissed before gingerly picking the snake up and hugging her. "I'll miss you and never forget what you've done to help me,"

"I'll miss you to Mistress Téa," hissed the serpent before her tongue flickered out as though giving her a kiss on the nose. "You are brave and strong, you will do well in the world."

"Thank you, friend," she whispered before turning to the man. "Now can I at least know who you are?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" He asked with a chuckle. "I'm Hades, god of the underworld,"

Eyes widen yet before she could utter a word, everything around her went dark.

Author note: Oh wow! It's been so long since I updated and I am so, so sorry! This chapter has been giving me hell because I wanted to give Téa one last task but I didn't know how to word it. So now she's on her way back! The time has come, let us see what happens from there!

 **Country That country's Language English Translation**

 **Japan / Haru No** hana **/ Spring Blossom**

 **Germany / Reich Spur / Empire Lane**

 **India/Pakistan / Aashcharyon kee** galee **/ Alley of Wonders**

 **Spain /** Callegjon **de la Magia / Alley of Magic**

 **Italy / Guerriero Vicolo / Warrior Alley**


	24. Chapter Twenty-four

_**Chapter twenty four**_

Christmas Miracles that warm the heart ar the best Miracles of all.

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As the sun rose, its rays filtered into the homes of Grimmauld Place lane?, warming the insides and bringing a view to what the day would bring. If the occupants of the street were to wake up and look outside at that moment, they would no doubt witness a remarkable sight.

Yet most occupants of the Houses were still slumbering peacefully. The occupants of Number 12 were no different. It was fuller than usual holding most of the Weasley family, Hermione, Sirius and Remus as well as Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Madam Pomfrey and Amelia Bones.

As sun leaked through the thick curtains of Téaleon's room, something began to happen that would make that Christmas even more special. Téaleon, who had remained unmoving since the summer, began to stir. As the rays moved to dance upon her face, emerald green eyes slowly opened.

Blinking at the light she slowly turned her head until it fell to the other side. Here her vision was filled with the site of her godfather laying on a lounge beside him was a woman she did not recognize. For a moment she simply stared, noticing how Sirius seemed to be relaxed in the presence of the woman who was leaning on him. Turning from both, she focused on the woman alone. She was pretty, auburn hair that was graying, and slightly tanned skin.

Turning her attention from the duo, she focused on the room. Recognizing at least one person in the room meant that wherever she was – she was safe. The question remained, – just where was she? She didn't recognize the room, so it wasn't the Burrow. She could sense the presence of magic embedded into the building itself showing that it was an old magical home yet somehow she could also sense a malicious presence in the house giving her an uneasy sensation. Still, it didn't seem – overwhelming – she could put that aside for now after all she had just gotten back.

Back, her soul was back in her body, she had done it. She had faced everything and returned to her body. She had done something that others had not done in over a century; she had survived the Dementors Kiss. Now – now she had to regain her strength, Hades – of all people – had made it clear that her body would heal in time but that she would be weak to start with. She hated being weak, it brought hard memories to the surface, memories she would rather forget.

Shaking her head, the young Potter drew a deep breath before resting back in the bed. She wanted to get up and walk about but that would have to wait, she had an inkling her legs wouldn't be able to support her weight for the time being. Yet she didn't really want to sleep, she had – in her mind – slept long enough after all. She wasn't sure what day it was but it was cold, and by what she could see there was snow falling showing it was probably December.

Looking to Sirius once again, something in the corner caught her eye and she gingerly extended her arm – thankful that she could move it at least, and took the book. Slowly bringing it into sight she read the title before grinning.

Gingerly moving her body into a sitting position, she stacked the pillows behind her before resting back, slightly out of breath by the motion and no less frustrated by it. Still, she had been in a coma, her body unmoving for a length of time. Maybe a Healer would be able to help her now that she was awake but she didn't know. How many wizards or witches went into a coma anyway?

Turning her thoughts away from that, though, she turned it back to the book in her hand, A Christmas Carol. She remembered this book from when she had been younger, still unaware of the magical world, it had been her favorite Christmas Book. Chuckling she opened the book and began to read, happy to have a distraction.

As she read the time past until finally, the sound of rustling clothes caught her attention. Looking away from her page, she spotted the woman slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Markings her page, she placed the book down. When she returned her attention to the woman she met stormy blue eyes that were staring at her as though they couldn't believe that she was actually awake.

"Hi," she greeted, voice cracking a bit from un-use. "Maybe you could tell me where exactly I am?"

That simple question seemed to crack the woman from her shock as she hurriedly shook her godfather awake. As the man grunted awake, his head shook from side to side as though ridding it of thoughts before turning and frowning to the woman beside him.

"Bloody hell woman, what you do that for?" he grumbled sleepily.

"Sirius Black I woke you for a reason!" The woman exclaimed before motioning to Téa who was highly amused. That amusement only grew as Sirius turned to stare at her before freezing, his eyes growing wider.

"Hi Sirius," Greeted Téa while giving a light wave of her hand, just like the woman that seemed to do the trick as in seconds the man was tripping over himself until he was engulfing her into a tight bone crushing hug.

Gasping for air, she patted his back as best she could, considering her arms were locked to her side but thankfully the man pulled back slightly to stare at her with watery eyes. Giving him a soft smile she bent and kissed his cheek.

"I've missed you Padfoot," she murmured earning a half sob, half chuckle from the man.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was about you," He asked while running a hand through her silver locks. "Remus showing up with you, like he did had my heart stopping, then Pomfrey says you were kissed. Damn it Téa I never ever wanted to see you like that!"

"Not like I wanted to be like that Padfoot but things happened," She whispered before grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "But – I made it back, I'm here Sirius, I'm alright and although a little weak at the moment, I'll be just as strong as I was before, if not more so before you know it."

"I was just so worried," he whispered before pulling her towards him and resting his chin on the top of her head. "You should have seen Remus, he was practically hyperventilating when he brought you here,"

Shutting her eyes, Téa allowed herself to relax against the man. She knew she had worried everybody, but she never thought she would have worried so many. Yet the proof was before her, Sirius had clearly been truly shaken by what had happened to her and then there were Ron and Hermione plus others she didn't know.

"Um, speaking of here, where exactly is here?" she asked again, hoping to actually get an answer to the question.

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," Came the soft answer from the woman, pulling both Sirius and Téas attention to her. "Before you can answer, I'm Amelia Bones," she continued earning a soft smile from Téa.

"You're Susan Bones' aunt, right? Head of the DMLE?" The teen asked curiously earning a gentle smile from the woman. "She's spoken of you in the past, you're the youngest Head of the DMLE to take charge, impressive in its own right.

"Yes – yes I am and I was." The woman answered before looking to Sirius who seemed to give a nod. Clearly, the duo knew something that she didn't. "We should have met years ago, in actuality. Yet that is my fault,"

Here the woman looked more nervous, clearly whatever she was trying to say was not something that would be good news. Or if it was good news, it was something she should have been told or known about a long time ago. That was often the case when it came to the Magical world after all.

"Well, you're here now right?" Téa suggested softly, a calm smile forming on her lips. Since her experience in the soulless world, she had gained an understanding that sometimes people did stupid things for stupid reasons. She had no control over those things and so would just have to take it when it came her way.

"Yes – yes I am." The older woman murmured before taking a deep breath. "I should have approached you long ago, Téa, because I am – I was chosen to be your godmother, you mother - Lily - wanted it.

The bombshell dropped Téa gaze did not leave the woman for a bit before she finally did, this time turning it to Sirius who gave a nod. Turning back to the woman she gave her a look over. Yes, she was made, made that she hadn't been told this, yet for some reason she couldn't pull the strength to be angry for very long. Yes, she had lost her chance at growing up with a loving family but - it seemed like now that she was older, they were flocking to her like protective, overbearing bears.

"I only knew I had a godfather when Sirius broke out of Azkaban," she remarked startling the woman, "All I can say is that – it's nice to meet you,"

That seemed to startle the woman, clearly not expecting such a calm response to the news. Sirius was just as shocked as she was yet a smile from their goddaughter had both figures relaxing.

…

Christmas Morning was a sober affair as people gathered in the Kitchen. Sirius had exited Téas room yet and nobody wished to enter it in the case they were interrupting something they didn't want to know. Yet it was clear that people were getting a little nervous, especially as Dumbledore arrived with McGonagall while Pomfrey was itching to enter the room.

No Christmas Presents had been opened yet, the children being too sad or nervous to do so with great excitement.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Molly called from her place at the stove, preparing the rest of Christmas Breakfast, she often cooked to distract herself from the war and the situation.

"Oh, you don't know how hungry you are until somebody says that," came a voice from the staircase.

As one everybody turned eyes wide as they stared at the three people entering the kitchen. One was Amelia Bones, a soft amused smile on her lips, while the other was Sirius Black, a grin on his own face. Yet as they entered fully the third person came completely into view. Silver white hair had been pulled into a french braid while sparkling emerald green eyes stared back at them all a grin playing on slightly flushed face. Being on Sirius' back - as though getting a piggyback ride - was the one person that everybody wanted to know about.

"Merry Christmas everybody," the teen greeted while Sirius let a bark like laugh escape him as though this was all highly amusing.

Within seconds, the kitchen was a hive of activity as people shouted in shock, calling out her name and hurrying to their feet. The two that made it to her first were Ron and Hermione, and soon she slid from Sirius' back only to be caught in a gentle hug from her red-headed friend who had no trouble supporting her light weight.

"We're really happy to have you back mate," the boy whispered into her ear making her smile. Allowing him to support her, she gave Hermione her one-armed hug that swiftly turned into a three person hug.

"I'm so glad you made it through everything," Hermione sniffed, tears falling from her brown eyes. "and this is the best Christmas present ever,"

"I've missed you both and you have to catch me up on everything but I really am hungry," she mumbled earning snorts of laughter from around the room even as people pushed the tears from their eyes.

"She shouldn't eat too heavy of food," Madam Pomfrey finally spoke, before hurrying to her feet and moving to the trio, "and she must rest. I can see that she is unsteady on her feet,"

"Madam Pomfrey," Téa laughed glad to see the woman had not changed. "Please don't confine me to a bed, I've been in one for months,"

Shaking her head, the woman gave her a stern look yet it was somewhat ruined by the tears tracks on her cheeks and her lips twitching upwards every so often.

"I know dear, we'll do your check up after breakfast, but you must not over exude yourself," she ordered while waving her finger at her. "For now, I think small walks will do and sitting," The Hogwarts Healer declared before waving her wand, summoning a chair so that the teen could settle herself down.

With Ron helping, she settled down, while Ron sat in front of her, Hermione sat beside her on her left while Sirius took her right. Within little time, though she was being hugged once again, this time by Mrs. Weasley who was sniffling.

"I'm so relieved you're alright dear," she murmured softly, clearly emotional at her sudden appearance. "You've had us all so very worried,"

"I'm glad to be back Mrs. Weasley," She whispered while placing a gentle hand on the other woman, trying to her best to return the hug. "Your hugs are one thing I deeply missed,"

That seemed to make the woman smile yet she gave her an extra little squeeze before pulling away and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"We'll take very good care of you dear, and you will listen to Madam Pomfrey, she's been looking after you as a Healer," the woman ordered before patting her shoulder moving off to prepare something for her.

Turning her attention to the occupants of the table, her eyes swiftly met the twinkling blue ones of the Headmaster. She also noticed that those twinkling eyes weren't the normal twinkle but caused by tears that had gathered in them. When she looked to the man's right she spotted her Head of House wiping at her own tears with a handkerchief a smile dancing on her normally stern face.

Before she could examine the others, though, Mrs. Weasley returned, placing a tray before her. Looking down Téa was surprised to find yogurt, fruits - such as berries - and a bit of granola. It looked rather pleasing and Téa knew she'd be able to stomach it after only having a minimal diet.

"I'm afraid you won't be eating like the others for a bit my dear," Pomfrey voiced, "although pudding is always a good thing when recovering,"

That made Téa chuckle yet she slowly began to eat. She took her time, allowing Sirius to introduce the rest of the people around the table, revealing them to be Members of this so-called Order of the Phoenix.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he works as an Auror for the Ministry," Sirius began earning a calm nod from the darker skinned wizard.

"Hello Téa, glad to finally meet you." he greeted, voice calm and deep which was probably very useful in his career when calming people down.

"That's Nymphadora Tonks, never call her Nymphadora she hates it, she's my second cousin and the one that arrested me so that I could get cleared of all charges." Her godfather joked making Téa grin as she looked at the purple haired young woman.

As they continued on, introducing people she returned all their greetings with ones of her own before finally they were done. Still, she did have one question after all she wasn't quite certain just what the Order of the Phoenix was.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all but I do have one question? What is the Order of the Phoenix?" she finally curiously earning a warm smile from Dumbledore who chose to explain that personally.

"Well my dear, the Order of the Phoenix is an organization founded by myself to oppose Lord Voldemort," here many people in the Order flinched yet Téa only gave a nod. "The original Order was created in the 1970's. It was constructed after Voldemort returned and began his time of terror. At that time, we worked with the Ministry of Magic to oppose Voldemort and his followers and played a crucial role in the First Wizarding War. When the war ended, the Order was disbanded."

"We had many members, sadly we lost quite a few of them during the war," Sirius remarked while shooting Molly and Amelia looks. "The Prewett Brothers," here the Weasley's all turned grim. "Most of the Bones Family, the McKinnon Family, the last members we lost were your parents and the Longbottoms."

Here Téa looked up at Dumbledore, suddenly remembering the one thing she had learned that was - in her mind - the most important. She needed to get to Gringotts, to remove the journal from her vault but that would have to wait - sadly. She wasn't fit for a journey like that. For now, she would keep her mouth shut, though.

"The night Voldemort returned, I was sent to inform the original Order members that the Order had been reformed. Then we set up Headquarters in this house. My old Family home," Sirius continued but here Dumbledore continued.

"It was placed under the Fidelius Charm my dear, I as Secret Keeper. Allow me to welcome you to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"This is your house?" She asked curiously, earning a nod from Sirius.

"Sadly, I'm the last of the main line of Blacks, my dear mother couldn't cast me out of the family, although she did try." The man muttered before shaking his head. He would tell her about that part of his life later on.

"This summer, Dumbledore had people assigned to guard you against possible attacks. The night you - you were kissed," Sirius muttered eyes darkening, "was the one night we had Mundungus Fletcher on guard duty. He left you unguarded."

"You had people watching over me?" She asked confused as to why. Yes, she knew Voldemort wanted her dead personally but she didn't think that Dumbledore would find it so important to guard her.

"Indeed my dear," The aged Headmaster murmured while giving a nod of his head, yet he said no more on the subject."

Deciding to put that aside, she turned her thoughts to the Order. They were basically a vigilante group that assisted in the war against Voldemort. Her parents had been part of the group during the first war. Had that impacted their deaths? Most probably, as it seemed Voldemort had been targeting even wizarding Family who defied him and her own parents had defied him openly.

"Now that that has been answered, are you finished your meal dear?" Pomfrey finally spoke up pulling her from her thoughts. "I would like to begin your check up to see what we are expected to heal and what will take time,"

"Oh - uh yes I am, thank you, Mrs. Weasley, I really enjoyed that," Téa remarked while shooting the woman a grateful smile.

"Mister Black, your help please," the Healer requested and with a nod Sirius swiftly stood before pulling her chair out. Gingerly he picked her up, carrying her bridal style as they left the room.

Making their way up the steps of the large house, they swiftly arrived and she was placed upon the bed. With a look from the Healer Sirius excused himself from the room.

It was a half an hour later that Téa found herself settled in the sitting room of Grimmauld place, having been placed gingerly on a stuffed armchair. The Weasleys were all around, Hermione and Ron at her feet while Sirius sat with Remus both giving her glances every now and again. Pomfrey had declared her to be in better health considering the circumstances. more so than she had originally believed she would be. Her magical core was settling fine and she estimated that with proper exercise and diet she would be good to return to Hogwarts at the end of the Christmas Holidays.

"Time to open presents," Arthur Weasley swiftly announced a smile on his face that would light the entire room if it hadn't already been so.

"As gifts were handed out, Téa was content to just watch until a package was placed upon her own lap.

Eyes widening she swiftly noticed that it was from Mrs. Weasley and it was undoubtedly a Weasley jumper. Smiling she gingerly opened it to find a beautiful long sleeved hand knitted jumper done in purple, on the front was the picture of a white stag, her patronus.

Smiling softly she ran a hand over it before looking up at Mrs. Weasley who was giving her a watery smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she murmured heartfully.

"You're welcome dear,"

As presents continued to be handed out one at a time, Téa continued to receive some. She protested that she hadn't gotten anybody anything but that simply earned her snorts of dismissal.

"Don't worry about it mate, having you back is a Christmas Present in its own right, "Ron grunted while shooting her a grin that had her smiling back.

 **Author note:**

 **You guys are lucky to get this chapter, I fell ill with the stomach flu today and - although I was opening - I regrettably had to call in sick. I felt so bad doing so too but when you start throwing up, it's best you stay home. Logical I think. Now there is one event that I completely forgot to put in this story and that was Mr. Weasley's attack, I'll have to work that in the next chapter - oops.**

 **Well I hope you guys liked the chapter, Téa's finally back in her own body now is the journey to regaining her strength!**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

_**Chapter twenty five**_

 _ **Information before entering a war would be a good idea, no?**_

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Happy Friday everybody! At least it's Friday for me lol.

First of all, I would like to thank all of those who reviewed! You know you have amazing readers when they hope you feel better! You guys are the best and I'm glad you liked the chapter.

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As the evening began to arrive upon them, most chose to remain in the sitting room. The children spoke at length, both making an unspoken choice of not asking question about the war or Téa's time out of her body. Yet as the evening grew into its late hour, Téa began to feel the effects of her weakened state more and more and soon she was unable to hide them from those around her.

Yawning, Téa allowed herself to sit back in her chair and relax. It seemed the yawn though had caught Ron's attention and one look to Hermione had the duo standing.

"We'll help you up to bed Téa, you look tired," the red head remarked making Téa smile yet she didn't object. As the taller boy helped her to her feet, he allowed her to rest against him as they walked out of the room.

Walking up the stairs was a slow process yet when they arrived on the second floor, Ron swiftly moved in front of her and bent showing he wanted her on his back. Shaking her head, she complied and as he rose, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"So what's happened while I was away?" She finally asked.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff," Ron grunted while Hermione hurried to open the door to her room.

"Our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year was a toad Ministry worker who was arrested by Madam Bones for the illegal use of a Black Quill," Hermione continued while pulling the covers down yet the moment she did they all received a rather large shock and although Hermione lets a little eep leave her lips, Téa's own exclamation was not understood by the two friends.

" _Attor!"_ she hissed as the beautiful serpent uncoiled from its ball and looked around in confusion.

" _Mistress? Why are you laying on the two-legged males back? Is he your mate?"_ The serpent asked curiously making Téa laugh even as she slowly slid from Ron's back.

" _No, he was simply helping me,"_ She answered before gingerly gathering the snake into her hands and bringing her closser.

Slumping on the bed, she felt her smile grow, happy to have her with her. Thanking Hades, she allowed the serpent to slither onto her neck before it gave her one of its serpent-like kisses.

" _I am glad to see you, Mistress, I do not understand how yet I am grateful, I had worried you would not survive without me,"_ the snake remarked making her laugh.

" _You silly thing, I would have survived but I just would have missed you terribly,"_ Téa answered before realizing that they had an audience in the form of her two best friends.

" _Believe what you wish Mistress,"_

Rolling her eyes at the serpent yet no less happy, Téa looked up to find both Ron and Hermione staring at her as though she had grown a second head. Giving them a grin she motioned them closer yet neither moved.

"Téa that's a Atheris Hispida, a highly venomous viper with no known antidote to its venom which causes blood clotting difficulties, pain and swelling not to mention death. It's dangerous and yet your holding it like it's an old friend." The brown haired witch remarked making Téa smirk.

"That's because this is Attor. She died a very long time ago and was part of one of the tasks I had to overcome during the first task of my journey. She became my loyal friend and accompanied me during the rest of my tasks. I can promise that she won't harm you guys, she's very polite actually. Téa explained before running a finger over the snake's feather-like scales. "I don't know how she's here but I strongly suspect that it's thanks to the last person I saw before my soul was sent back. Would you guys like to touch her?" She offered yet both shook their heads fiercely which, to be honest, Téa didn't blame them for.

"Do you – remember all of your tasks?" Hermione finally asked while the duo hurried to take seats in chairs.

"They wouldn't be very useful to me if I didn't," Téa answered eyes twinkling as she thought about the teachers she had had and everything she had learned. "The first task placed in front of me was a maze, now you can see how that was – unhelpful at the time. The maze was set to put me against all my worst fears,"

Here she took a moment and looked down, she didn't go into detail yet continued after a moment of silence talking about the maze here and there. By the time, she finished the maze section she was yawning.

"I think we all need our sleep," Hermione remarked a yawn also escaping her lips.

The excitement of the day had finally caught up with them, not to mention the worry of the past few months over their friend's health. With her return, the worry was lifted from their shoulders somewhat. The unspoken truth of not wanting to be separated rang through the room as Hermione clambered onto the bed, even with Attor taking its place curled on her Mistress's chest. As both girls settled down for a night's sleep curled close together, Ron pulled pillows and a blanket over to the lounge and settled in.

…

The next morning came quick for Grimmauld Place, and as Téa woke up, the familiar weight of Attor on her chest, she let a smile leave her lips. Looking to the side she found Hermione snoring lightly beside her while, Ron was snoring rather loudly across the room. Shaking her head at her two best friends, she gingerly took Attor and placed her on the bedding. Moving from the bed she bit gingerly stood and – to her shock and amazement – felt stronger than yesterday.

It seemed like Hades had indeed been speaking the truth, her magic was slowly building her body up to what it had been in the maze. She wasn't overly close to being back to normal but she could at least stand on her own two feet for a little bit of time without help.

"Shower," she mumbled while looking around. "That's what I want this morning,"

With those thoughts in mind, she retook Attor into her arms, not really wanting to leave her behind in case she scared both Ron and Hermione. Padded around the room until she found her school trunk she swiftly opened the lid yet froze at what she found inside. There placed delicately as though it had always been there was an all too familiar book, not to mention attire and slim box, a letter placed upon it all. Shakily taking the envelope she slumped to the ground before nibble fingers hurried to open it.

 _ **To Téaleon Potter,**_

 _ **As you probably have noticed, a few gifts have been left to you upon your return to your body, first being your friend and companion. Your friend is now your familiar and - as you well know – will defend you and help you defend others. The other gifts I leave to you are mementos of your journey in my realm.**_

 _ **As you might have noticed, your body is swiftly healing, I estimate that it will take no more than a week for your full strength to return to you, a gift as I am rather certain it would be unwise to keep you off your feet for long. This is where my next gift comes into play. Inside the box that you no doughtily recognize, was placed a rather recognizable object. I am certain you already know what it is, you know its uniqueness and perhaps one day you will realize just what it is, or perhaps we will have future correspondences that will allow me to tell you the tale of that particular item.**_

 _ **For now, I bid you farewell and good luck,**_

 _ **Truthfully yours,**_

 _ **God of the Underworld, Hades**_

Sitting back, Téa's gaze did not leave the parchment until finally, a particularly loud snore made her jump. Hurrying back to the trunk as fast as she could she swiftly took the narrow box out and set it on the ground before hiding the rest of it along with the letter at the bottom of her trunk for the time being. She wasn't sure what the hell she was going to do with it but for now, it would stay there. Once that was done, she grabbed her toiletries and a change of clothes before picking up the box.

Struggling to her feet, she walked – or shuffled from the room trying not to wake her two best friends. Finding a washroom was fairly easy, or at least took less time then she thought as she opened the first door only to be met with one.

Slipping in, she shut and locked the door before depositing her items on the vanity. Moving to the tub, she turned the water on, knowing it would best she took a bath instead of a shower considering her state.

Sitting on the toilet seat, she gingerly took the box before looking down at it. Taking a deep breath she allowed it slowly out before pulling back the black ribbon and lifting the lid. As it was lifted the item inside was brought into view and she felt a warmth settle in her at the site. There placed delicately on a purple velvet pillow was the wand she had used during her journey in Hades' playhouse – her wand. Just like the phoenix wand, she had been through many adventures with it and – yes, she could perform wandless magic – it was nice to have the weight of the wand with her once more.

"Now I just need the phoenix wand," she whispered softly a smirk playing on her lips. "Two wands and wandless magic, I won't be so easily taken down once I'm back at full strength,"

It was forty minutes later that Téa returned to her room; dressed in a fresh set of clothes, her silver-white hair pulled into a French braid, she felt much cleaner than she had yesterday. Slipping into the bedroom, she padded over to her trunk and put everything back before padding to the bed. Sliding beside Hermione who was still asleep she pulled she rested against the Headboard.

" _You'll be meeting quite a few new people today Attor, no harming any of them,"_ she ordered softly as the snake slithered onto her lap.

" _I am to protect you mistress, how am I to do so if I cannot harm others?"_

" _Easy, these people are not going to hurt me, trust me when I say that you will know those who wish me harm and are welcome to harm them in return, but for now until I say so leave your fangs in your mouth and your poison to yourself. Soon we'll be able to train again, get back into shape but for now, we must rest. There should be plenty of mice and rats around here you can eat but first I'll introduce you to everybody,"_ Téa remarked earning a sigh of satisfaction from the snake as she ran her finger over her scales.

" _Very well Mistress, I will concede to your wishes."_

"Do you know how weird it is hearing you speak like that?" Came the grungy voice of Hermione forcing Téa's attention to her serpent friend.

"Morning sleepy head, I hope we didn't wake you?"

"No," yawned the brunette while stretching. "You didn't, how long have you been up?"

"I took a bath so about an hour," Téa answered honestly and for a moment there was no response until Hermione shot up and turned on her.

"Took a bath! You could have drowned; nobody was there to help you if you needed it! Why didn't you wake me!" "Hermione!" Téa exclaimed, hands flying to rest on her friend's shoulders as the other girl's panic rose.

"I'm capable of taking a bath," she finally continued, once her friend had fallen silent, meeting her eyes with her own. "I'm regaining my strength quicker then Pomfrey thought, just – trust my judgment."

"But you just woke up you could barely stand yesterday, what if you had fallen –" "That's why I took a bath and not a shower, I didn't want to fall. Now, why don't we stop arguing about that and start talking about what I've missed, I need to know as much as possible before I re-enter the world," She urged knowing that they needed to get away from the subject of her apparent need to have people do everything with her.

"I – I don't really know where to start, I mean there has been a lot happening." Hermione finally spoke, her, having calmed a little.

"Starting from the beginning would be good," Téa teased before releasing her friend and sitting back against the headboard.

"Well – for the entire summer and a good portion of the year the Ministry was fueling a campaign to discredit you and Headmaster Dumbledore. By discredit, I mean, slander and smear both your reputations. Fudge denied Voldemorts return, until the attack on Azkaban," Hermione explained yet that little fact that Téa's eyes first narrowing in anger before they widen at the news of Azkaban.

"Azkaban was attacked?"

"But it was defended, Madam Bones was able to set up wards around Azkaban with the help from Gringotts," Hermione answered before noticing how her friend's shoulders seemed to slump in relief and a grin formed on her face. "What did you do?"

"I made a small donation to the foundation when the Ministry would update the wards around Azkaban certain ones would also be added. If the Ministry worked with Gringotts that means they were implemented," she answered earning a raised eyebrow from the brunette yet she allowed it to slid for the moment.

"People were arrested, before and after the attack but the most surprising was the fact that Lord Nott was proven to have been under the Imperious Curse and so not in control. Details haven't been made about it all, though."

"So some of his Death Eaters weren't willing?" She asked curiously earning a nod from the brunette.

"Apparently, he was even under it during the first war, imagine what sort of effect that has on a person not to mention his son. Theodore Nott's been rather silent this year, he stays away from Malfoy and his goons yet haven't truly spoken to anybody all year."

Frowning Téa looked down at Attor, she knew how the Imperious affected a person, to know that somebody had been under it for so long and yet nobody had noticed was startling and – horrifying. Hermione was right, though, she couldn't possibly imagine what the man's son was feeling, he didn't truly know his father because of somebody's need to control another human being. It also brought into question you entire upbringing.

"We spoke once while in the library, not for long though but he was polite." Came the remark that snapped the young Potter from her thoughts. "Schools been – different. You should know most of Gryffindor is divided, some believe you others don't it's sad really even with everything that's been going on. We believe Fudge does know that he's back but that they're keeping it under wraps so that Voldemort doesn't surface quicker. With Umbridge gone, we have a better teacher because they convinced Remus to return and teach."

"Really? That's brilliant; I'm going to have to give him a hug when I see him later." Téa laughed finally happy for some good news. "He was a brilliant teacher,"

"It's a enormous improvement compared to Umbridge," Hermione agreed. "I don't really know what else to tell you, though; I think I've covered everything."

For a moment silence fell, Téa contemplating what she had just learned. A lot had happened and she still needed to do a lot, she needed to visit Gringotts, speak with the Goblins, claim her inheritance, then she needed to get that potion journal. She also needed to do a bit of shopping. She also needed to find the Black Family Library in this house. Where else could it have been after all, this was the Ancestral Home of the Black Family.

"How have you and Ron been?" she suddenly asked while looking up at her friend.

"We've been better; we've missed you so much. We have sort of secluded ourselves from everybody else considering things. We found this room – you will enjoy it, Dobby showed it to us. It's called the Room of Requirements and gives you anything you want. Ron has changed the most, though – he has grown up since you were kissed, studying for classes, doing his homework. He's also started working out," Hermione revealed.

"I've noticed," she murmured, her eyes dancing towards the lounge where Ron was still sleeping.

"What about you Téa, how are you adjusting? I mean you were alone for a while and you're suddenly back in your own body. What were the tasks like?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I'm adjusting, once my body gets back to full physical strength I'll feel better. It's – not as odd as you would think considering what my tasks were." Téa began a soft laugh leaving her lips as she thought about her teachers. "One of my tasks was to impress a series of teachers, so I was taught things. I had five teachers each one as different as the other and everything they taught me was different. One of the hardest parts of the entire thing was the first task, the blasted maze of terror. I had to face my fears,"

"Sounds troublesome," came a grunt that had the two girls jumping. Attention shooting to the lounge they found Ron rubbing his eyes. "Actually sounds crummy,"

"You have no idea and good morning," Téa laughed as the boy sat up and stretched.

"Morning, so how long have you guys been awake?" he grumbled still half asleep.

"An hour and a half or so," came the answer yet no sooner had she said that did a loud grumble echo from the boy's stomach making the girls laugh.

"Glad to see not everything had changed!" Téa gasped before laughter overtook her once more.

"Let's go to breakfast then, I'm sure your mother has been slaving away to make an acceptable after Christmas brunch," Hermione remarked before getting up.

"Plus I need to introduce Attor to the rest of the house," Téa remarked as the snake slithered up her arm to lie around her shoulders.

"Bloody hell, I forgot about the snake," Ron grunted before chuckling. "Mum's going to have a heart attack,"

"It will be interesting to see everybody's reaction but she is my familiar and my friend she won't be separated from me," Téa grunted eyes narrowed in determination as she stood from the bed.

Together, the trio made their way downstairs, stopping every now and again to allow Téa to regain her legs stubbornly denying any help. Finally arriving on the main level she took another moment, angry at herself for being so weak. Before they could move on though, Téa noticed something moving in the corner. Shoulders tensing she was about to move her wand into her hand when the thing moved into the light showing that it was a house elf, a rather old house elf.

"That's Kreacher," Ron told her, glaring at the elf as though it was a vile creature, which was rather odd considering Ron's personality. "Odd one he is,"

"Hello Kreacher," she greeted eyes narrowed as the aged elf looked at her with narrowed eyes. She had a feeling this house elf was like none of the others she had met and by how hatefully the little creature looked at them, she wasn't mistaken. "My name is Téaleon Potter, heiress of the Potter Family,"

Here not only did the House Elves eyes open wide so did Hermione and Ron's. Yet that simple statement had the effect she knew would come. The old house elf gave a low bow before disappearing.

"What was that?" Hermione hissed, confused and a little angry by how cold her friend had acted towards the little creature.

"That Hermione, will be explained later, for now, let's go eat," With that, she began walking down the steps to the kitchen. When she arrived, there were others already present and Mrs. Weasley was cooking away.

Taking seats it wasn't long before three plates were set before them, for Téa it was a much lighter breakfast. No sooner did she dig into her breakfast though did her godfather come stumbling into the room looking wide-eyed and panicked.

"Téa?!" He exclaimed upon seeing her. "Thank Merlin, I didn't find you in your room."

"We decided to come down for breakfast," Téa answered an amused tone in her voice. "I also wanted to introduce everybody to somebody."

"Oh, and who would that be dear?" Molly asked while turning to the table,

"My friend and familiar, we met during my – journey – would you call it. She's been told not to harm any of you so there is nothing to worry about, so allow me to introduce you to Attor," here she raised a hand, allowing the serpent to slither onto it to be viewed by the rest of the people in the kitchen.

The moment their eyes landed on the serpent they all froze, clearly shocked and – some – frightened by the serpent.

"Yes she's venomous, but as you must probably know I am a parseltongue. We understand each other perfectly and I won't have anybody harming her. Like I have said, she is my friend and familiar." She continued eyes moving around the room, as though making her point.

"That's – a snake," Sirius whispered, rather paler than normal. "A venomous snake, and how – how is it here if you met it while your soul was out of its body?"

"The mine behind everything I went through chose to send her back to me, will she be a problem Sirius?" Téa asked nervously hoping that the man wouldn't be too adverse to having the serpent around. "She'll look after any mice that are around, rodents in general actually."

"I – well –" for a moment the man didn't really know what to say. The thought of his goddaughter holding the venomous snake around her own neck was a terrifying one yet the fact remained that the Potter heiress was clearly determined to keep the serpent around her.

"It will take some time – but I presume we'll get used to it,"

"Good, she's very friendly, only bites those that try to harm me, so nothing to worry about." Téa declared as the serpent slithered back into place around her neck.

" _They are all staring at us Mistress? Have they never seen a snake before?"_ Attor hissed making Téa smile.

" _Afraid they are all used to the notion that snakes belong with Dark wizards Attor, you'll have to give them wide breath for the time being until they get used to you a bit more."_ She hissed back, taking note of the ones that shivered as she spoke the snake language.

Slowly Sirius settled in a chair opposite Téa, his eyes never leaving the serpent around her neck. He knew his goddaughter could speak to serpents, it had been made public knowledge last year, yet to hear her speak it in person was something he had not held the – pleasure. It was odd, hearing the language spoken by somebody who was not trying to kill you. He had only ever heard Voldemort speaking Parseltongue and yet Téa's version was different, very different. It was light and soft not grating and edgy.

"So Sirius, can I ask if you know where the Black Family Library is?" came the question that had him turning his gaze from the serpent to his goddaughter, rather shocked by it.

"Library? How did you know Grimmauld Place had a library?" he questioned in surprise.

"I know because one of my teachers while in the soul dimension* was Regulus Black, your brother." She answered stalling all movement in the room but her own as she slipped a piece of apple into her mouth.

"You – you met Regulus? No that's impossible, he died ages ago!"

* * *

Author note:

I have been trying to find a better word for what Téa was forced to go through and I do not believe that Dimension quite fits this setting and would be happy to receive suggestions. For now, though I will continue to address it as such until a time where I find a suitable replacement.

For those who so wish to give their own suggestion, either PM me or leave a review with your suggestion. I will read it I promise, I always love reading your reviews because they inspire me to continue writing. Although I might note say it enough I would like to thank all of you for reviewing and hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Not much action or of anything really but Téa had to learn about what happened during her absence and it sets into motion future chapters.

Also as expected – from the start even – Attor has made a re-appearance. Really how could I leave the beautiful serpent out!

Belated note: I lost most of this chapter a day ago, I was so sad considering the effort I put into it, argh! Still I prevailed and re-wrote it for you all to read.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

_**Chapter Twenty-Six**_

 _ **There are three levels of dark;**_

 _ **the good dark, mid tone dark and the bad dark**_

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

For a moment, Téa could only stare at her godfather in amusement. It seemed like the man was perhaps trying to forget that she had almost died considering she was sitting before him now. Yet it wouldn't be something to simply forget, she could and would never forget what had happened to her as it had brought her not only great pride but also great courage and knowledge.

"Sirius, you do realize that my soul was displaced from this plane of existence right? I was technically dying," she remarked swiftly noticing how some winced at the reminder. "I met your brother during my trials to get back to my body. He was one of my teachers, taught me some good spells. Very polite and nice -" "He was a Death Eater," Sirius grunted darkly yet Téa shook her head.

"Have you never made a mistake Sirius, one you deeply regret? Well, your brother did that. He regretted not doing what you did and fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters yet, in the end, he died defecting, and he died trying to help bring the madman down." She declared before rising to her feet. "He made it obvious that I had some research to do in the Black Family Library once I returned to my body,"

"Even if we knew where it was you are not to enter it, young lady! That library will be filled with all sorts of dark and dangerous books! You are a child, not to go near things like that." Molly Weasley ordered yet this made Téa bristle and turn to the woman.

"Mrs. Weasley you are a good woman but you are not my mother, nor my guardian. My mother died for me fourteen years ago, I am the Heiress of the Potter Family" she hissed the ring on her finger glowing ever so slightly as though to emphasize her point. "Secondly I am not a child, in age, I might be a fifteen-year-old teenage girl but in wisdom and knowledge, I am far beyond my years. Many adults cannot claim that they have not only faced Voldemort multiple times but also survived the Dementors kiss."

With that she stepped away from the table, eyes still narrowed she shook her head to Ron and Hermione who moved to follow.

"I need some alone time," she grunted while Attor hissed at those in the room, not pleased by how agitated her Mistress seemed to have become.

With that, she left the kitchen and moved to the main floor. Taking a moment, she rested against one of the walls, eyes closing in both exhaustion and anger at how quickly she had lost temper.

"You's knew Master Regulus?" Came a soft croaking sound that had Téa's eyes opening and her attention flying downwards. There she found – to her curiosity – Kreacher.

"I did, he was a very nice man," she remarked earning a nod from the house elf. "Kreacher – she asked gaining a sudden idea – do you know where the Black Family Library is, Regulus wanted me to find it so that I could find some books to help me."

Here the little creature looked unsure for a moment before it gave a nod and gingerly took her hand. Before she could say anything, they vanished with a soft pop and re-appeared. Blinking away the sense of confusion, she looked around herself to find that they had arrived on the same floor as her bedroom. Instead of facing her bedroom door, though, they faced another door.

Looking down at the little creature, she found him staring up at her with its large eyes.

"Thank you Kreacher, I appreciate this deeply, I presume the library is hidden though correct?" She asked earning a nod. "Well I always liked a challenge, thank you and Kreacher if you need someplace to hid from others you may use my room,"

"Kreacher will come when called by Mistress Téa, yous is nice like master Regulus," the House-elf murmured before bowing to her.

Giving him one last smile, she opened the door to the room. Slipping through, she shut it behind her and rested against it. The room she now found herself in was not large. It seemed to have been used as an office in the past as there was a large desk in the room yet nothing else. The only decoration was a large painting hung before the desk and even the painting held nothing of interest.

Walking around the desk, she settled against it looking at the painting. It was large, large enough to be a doorway yet the painting itself only held a large black door that was curled up by a fireplace. As though sensing her presence the dog looked up, its blue eyes staring at her.

"I find it rather amusing that you look a lot like Sirius' animagus form," she remarked, a smile tugging at her lips as the dog lulled its head to the side and let his tongue out. "I wonder if Sirius' father knew that he had an animagus form because you really do look like Padfoot,"

The sound of a click sounding through the office had Téa jumping off the desk in surprise yet the surprise only grew as the painting swung open to reveal a passageway. Eyes growing wide in shock she slowly stepped through the painting's archway. The moment she did, it shut behind her casting her in darkness until a lantern above her head lit to illuminate her path.

The passageway was not very wide at all, actually standing still, her shoulders brushed against both walls with little effort. Yet it was tall, and the lantern above illuminated it rather well showing the peeling wallpaper that had been placed there years before.

Arriving at a series of steps, she walked down until finally arriving in a very grand and opulent room that she so very recognized. How the Black Family Library could be here was beyond her capabilities to understand but she knew the Blacks had been powerful in their own right and very intelligent. Magic – especially weaved just right – could do unimaginable things.

"The Black Family Library wasn't so hard to find after all – well if you know the right people," She remarked yet it seemed speaking had roused the Portrait leaning against a wall she hadn't seen as with a snort the man woke pulling her attention from the library to him.

He was a handsome man, with short well-combed black hair that was nestled with gray, a well-trimmed beard covered the lower half of his face and his upper lip. He was a tall man with broad shoulders yet wasn't a heavy man. Dressed smartly in a black three-piece suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a blue tie he seemed ready for a formal event.

For a person who had met both Sirius and Regulus, it was clear to see that this man was their father, the Lord Orion Black.

"My, my what do we have here, the first to visit this library in many a year," the man greeted rather warmly which was surprising considering she hadn't pegged the man for being such even if she knew very little of him.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance Lord Black," She greeted ever so glad for her training in etiquette. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Téaleon Potter, Heiress to the Potter Family."

Here she gave a light curtsy before straightening her posture and looking at the painting who was giving her an amused expression yet rather pleased by how she had addressed him.

"Téaleon Potter, how pray tell did you enter Grimmauld Place little alone find this library. My only surviving heir is currently facing a life sentence in Azkaban for the treason of your parents no less." He remarked giving evidence that the man had died at some point after Sirius had been placed within Azkaban. "I could never have believed that Sirius would have followed in the rest of the families footsteps. Some part of me had hoped that Sirius would have saved us all from our ways, or at least make the Black name a respected one once more."

"Clearly you've not been made aware of things sir, shall I inform you what has been happening in the last few years?" She offered and with a nod, she jumped into her tail, telling the man as much as she could even going into detail about her time out of her body.

The man listened with great attention, a frown sometimes marring his features. When he learned of his son's innocence, he first looked relieved before anger towards the Ministry took over. Yet he did not speak, he did not shout he simply motioned for her to continue. When informed about the Dementors kiss his shock returned and only grew as she told him about the tasks she had faced.

"So that is how you learned of this place, Regulus – bless his heart – taught you and told you of it." The man remarked a smile dancing upon his lips as he realized that his youngest was at peace, helping others.

"Your son was a good man sir, he tried to bring down Voldemort and with his information, I hope to be able to learn more and finally bring him down to avenge all those who have lost their lives to him." She declared stubbornly.

"Well then, you've come to the right place, my dear. This library is my pride and joy, I have amassed a large collection of books from all around the world. Some I have translated myself, others in their original language. This library is filled with books from generations of Blacks. We might have some of the darkest toms but we also have other lighter ones, any information you seek on the darker aspects of magic you will find in this room. Yet I warn you child, what you find will not be pleasing to your mind." He warned.

"Magic is about intent sir, the intentions behind a spell are what matters," Téa whispered before looking around at the vast amount of books.

"Perhaps if you tell me what subject you are specifically searching for I could aid you," the man suggested.

"Before he could finish telling me we were separated but he was able to say something about a Horcrux?" Téa remarked thoughtfully. "I don't know what that is -" "Evil magic," Lord Black swiftly stated causing her to turn back to him to find that his expression looked very severe. "That is the foulest of evils, if – truly he has done so – Voldemort has done what other Dark Lords could only dream. Grindelwald had not even dared do that."

"Voldemort is a monster, he would do anything to keep power, doing something no other Dark Lord would do seems to be right up his alley," she sighed tiredly.

"You'll find the information you seek in the far right corner, third shelf, I warn you child those books are not to leave this library, they are considered illegal and would be burned." Lord Black warned and with a nod of thanks, Téa swiftly made her way to the section told.

Running her finger over each spin, she thankfully finds two books she needed and pulled them. Both were old, bound in the blackest of leathers. The corners and spine were decorated in silver accents while the books title was done in the same silver.

Walking to a table, she gingerly placed both books down before taking a seat. Opening the first, she swiftly began to read.

 _ **There is no darker magical art then the creation of the infamous Horcrux. Their origin is unknown, nor is the person responsible for this find in magical history. What is known is this, a Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul. To do this meant that you separate your own soul into two pieces, keeping the so-called 'Master' soul in your body while placing the other piece into an item. This allows a person to survive even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of their soul remains earthbound and undamaged.**_

 _ **To create a Horcrux, a wizard must first purposely commit murder. This act would result in damaging their very soul. A wizard who wishes to create a Horcrux would then use that damage to their gain by casting a spell, which would rip the damaged portion of the soul off the whole and encase it in an object. For safety reasons, the spell shall not be listed within the folds of these pages in the hopes that no more shall be created.**_

 _ **As stated before if the maker was later killed, he or she would continue to exist in a non-corporeal form, although there are possibilities of regaining one's body that is for another chapter.**_

 _ **As a fragment of soul, a Horcrux seems to retain the identity of its creator at the time of its creation. Yet a Horcrux is said to be the opposite of a person. Where a person's container – their body – could be destroyed without any damage to their soul, the fragment of soul contained inside a Horcrux was dependent on the container for its existence. If the container was destroyed or damaged beyond repair, so would the fragment of soul within it.**_

 _ **Destroying a Horcrux requires that the object containing the soul fragment be damaged to a point beyond any and all physical or magical repair. When a Horcrux was damaged to that point, a scream may be heard as the soul fragment perishes. Yet the creator would often use powerful enchantments and other protections on the container to protect them from damage. These limits the types of ways one could destroy a Horcrux, known ways are the following. The use of Fiendfyre, which requires extreme skill to control, the curse of the Dead.**_

 _ **As to be expected, tampering with one soul will cause various side effects as noted through my experience facing such a wizard, it is the first of Adalbert Waffling's Fundamental Laws of Magic : Tamper with the deepest mysteries – the source of life, the essence of self – only if prepared for consequences of the most extreme and dangerous kind.**_

 _ **The first side effects come in the form of dehumanization; I would only assume it would worsen with how many Horcruxes one would make – as a person could make more than one. One would become less human the more Horcruxes they made both emotionally and physically.**_

 _ **The next comes in the form of their appearance. Through my experiences, I have noticed that a person who splits their soul more than once will sustain notable changes in their appearance. Their features will become distorted, less human-like.**_

 _ **Finally, comes the instability, I notice clear instability within him, a shame considering he was such a brilliant wizard before all of this happened.**_

Disgust, it was as clear as day upon her face as she stared down at the book. She was certain this was the information she needed. Voldemort had made a Horcrux – or more than one. It was a strong possibility and she strongly suspected that one had already been destroyed.

"Tom Riddle's diary," she whispered before sitting back in her chair. "It must have been one, Diary Tom possessing Ginny, using her life force to try and regain his own body. It fits yet if that had been destroyed it means he had made more than one."

"Mistress," came a soft croak, pulling her from her thoughts and forcing her to look down to find Kreacher there. "Bad Master is searching for Mistress, old wizard be here to speak with Mistress,"

"Old wizard – oh Dumbledore!" She exclaimed earning a nod from the House-elf. "Thank you Kreature, let me just put these books away and I'll make my way up, they're in the sitting room?"

"Yes Mistress," the elf croaked.

Rising from her seat, Téa swiftly placed both books away before leaving the room, bidding the Lord Black farewell and promising to return.

Walking through the narrow path, she exited into the small office. Just as the portrait shut behind her the door to the room opened and Sirius stuck his head in to look about. Spotting her he seemed to grow relieved.

"There you are, I've been looking for you, and Dumbledore is here to speak to you." He hurried to state before opening the door fully. "I also wanted to apologize for this morning Téa, I – understand that you've gone through a difficult event in your life, actually more than one, but I hope that you won't let that stop you from enjoying your life."

"It won't Sirius, I promise that and we'll talk more about things later right now though I don't want to keep Dumbledore waiting," she remarked before slipping past him and making her way down the stairs.

Arriving on the main level, she entered the sitting room to find the aged wizard sitting on one of the sofas looking perfectly content with his surroundings. Upon seeing her, he gave her a warm smile that she returned.

"Ah Téa my dear, I had hoped to speak to you privately today, after all, we have much to discuss." He murmured gently.

"Indeed sir, we do, I have questions of my own I hope you could answer before we start anything else, though." She hurried to speak earning a soft smile before the man gave a nod of agreement. "But first I think, some privacy would be in order,"

"I have already placed certain precautions around the room, as the information I wish to tell you is a sensitive manner. You are – of course – welcomed to share the information later on with your friends but – it would be wise to choose wisely those you tell. For now, though nobody else is privy to are discussion."

"Wonderful then you can tell me when exactly you were going to tell me that Voldemort had created Horcruxes," she remarked in fake happiness, creating a result that was rather amusing for her as Dumbledore could only stare at her in complete and utter shock.

Before the man could regain his wits though she continued, fully intending to finally know everything she can about the man who had destroyed her life.

"I know about his Horcruxes sir," She growled, eyes narrowed in anger. "The Diary that had possessed Ginny in her first year, that was one, yet it was destroyed beyond repair meaning he made more than one before he attempted to kill me that Halloween night. He wouldn't have been able to survive if he hadn't. Tom Riddle was a smart man, crazy but smart, he would have created as many as he could if it meant cementing his existence on the human plane." She remarked before folding her legs together and sitting back against the sofa. "The side effects are also all there, dehumanization, appearance, and instability – because Voldemort really is a nut case."

"You are a smart girl Téaleon, I do not know how you were able to learn of this information but you are correct. Voldemort did indeed create Horcruxes, several to be in fact." Dumbledore confirmed looking every bit his age.

"I learned it from Regulus Black during my time out of my body; he taught me something that you – Headmaster – should have told me the moment you learned. You should have prepared me because you knew Voldemort would stop at nothing to get to me yet you did nothing. You told me nothing, you hid the through away from me now that ends here and now." She snarled before relaxing and grinning. "I'm not the child you knew before Headmaster; I am my own person, time to treat me as one. So you're going to tell me what you should have told me before and everything to do with what's been going on."

"It seems that we have far more to discuss," the aged wizard relented yet Téa only raised an eyebrow.

Three hours after Dumbledore arrived, he left leaving Téa sitting in the sitting room alone and contemplative. The first to approach her were Ron and Hermione who observed her for a moment before finally speaking.

"So I'm guessing you learned things that don't sound too good," Ron remarked as though it was normal.

"You know Ron, we have fucked up lives," she declared, not turning her eyes from Attor who was curled on her lap. "Really fucked up,"

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, together. What do you think we need to do Téa?"

"First, I need to go to Gringotts." She declared thoughtfully before a smirk covered her lips and she looked up. "That will happen by the end of the week."

"How? They won't let you leave the house alone and there is no way Mrs. Weasley is going to let you go," Hermione remarked.

"Hermione, Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful woman, don't get me wrong but she isn't my mother and has no control over my actions. I'm going to Gringotts by the end of the week, whether people like it or not."

…

The evening air was cool as a Téa stepped out of Grimmauld Place. Covered by a thick fur-trimmed coat she looked around before stepping off the step and disappearing with a spin. As she reappeared, it was by an old pub, its paint was peeling and its sign read closed. Walking to the door, she gingerly placed her hand on the knob and the lock clicked open.

Slipping through, she shut the door behind her and slowly walked through the stacked tables until she arrived at the back of the bar. Opening the door, she slid through until she arrived in a fully stocked storage room.

There she moved to the back and pulled her wand from her pocket. Tapping the wall she watched as it caved in on itself until an archway was formed – a passageway actually.

This old pub was an old entrance into Diagon Alley. The Goblins had told her about it considering it came out beside the bank.

Walking through, she shed her cloak as she went. Glad to be rid of the heavy material she hung it on a hook before continuing. Now only dressed in a set of old jeans and a long sleeved sweater she had found that actually fit her new figure, she was glad when she finally entered Diagon Alley.

At night, it was pretty much deserted and although there were one or two Aurors patrolling at, this time, she was able to enter Gringotts with little effort. The moment she walked in, two goblin guards welcomed her.

"I'm here to speak with Lord Grimtooth," she spoke softly yet respectively.

"Heiress Potter, welcome back to the human plane," came a male voice that had her eyes turning towards the other end of Gringotts where an elder Goblin stood.

"Lord Grimtooth, a pleasure to see you again, I think we have some rather important items to speak about." She greeted which earned her a chuckle in response.

* * *

 **Author note:**

 **Wow! Another update well that's because I've gotten a sudden grand bit of inspiration! Plus all these amazing reviews that are pushing me to write and update as swiftly as I can is always nice to get. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, soon - as in the next three or so chapters - she'll be returning to Hogwarts and even more fun will be had!**


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

_**Warning this is not an update! I was just correcting some errors, also I switched my grammar check to british settings so some words might not be the same to those in Canada, US and other countries not with these settings!**_

 _ **Sorry for getting your hopes up!**_

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* * *

 _ **...**_

 _ **Chapter twenty seven**_

 _ **Shopping the torture of hell for men**_

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Accepting the cup of hot cocoa presented to her by a goblin she gave a soft thank you before turning her full attention back to Grimtooth who was sipping on his own tea.

"You've had us all rather curious my dear, news of your state over the past few months. Your file finding its way in the critical section of my desk was proof enough. I am pleased to see that you made it through your ailment." Grimtooth remarked making her smile.

"It wasn't an easy journey Grimtooth but it did open my eyes to many items that need to be addressed." She remarked before taking a sip and placing the cup down. "It is the time that my family has a Head that will be able to lead it again and allow it to grow - financially."

"I see, I am pleased to hear this, now I propose we get started on that issue," Grimtooth proposed before reaching into his desk. Gingerly he pulled a box and placed it before Téa.

The box was a simple one, yet old made of dark slate stone. Its surface was polished and smooth yet upon the lids surface was the crest that many would recognise as the Potter Family Crest. It was a dragon's head, its eyes made of sapphires.

What many did not know was the dragon crest had been part of the family since its founding. It was the original crest of the Le Fay Family. It had only been modified slightly to ward off suspicion.

Gingerly opening the box, she swiftly spotted the beautiful signet room its gold perfectly polished and as she gingerly picked it up she saw that the family crest was present, yet instead of sapphire's the dragons eyes were white diamonds. Running a finger over its surface, she felt the magic flare to life.

Pulling the heir ring from her finger, she placed it within the box before slipping the signet ring upon her finger. The moment it settled into place, the ring glowed before shrinking and fitting her finger perfectly.

"Congratulations are in order then, Lady Potter." Grimtooth chuckled before accepting the box in return and placing it into his desk. "Now that that has been settled what are the issues you wished to discuss?"

"The Potter Family has been known under two previous names beforehand before we were the Potters we were the Peverells and before we were the Peverells we were the Le Fay Family. I want to slowly transition my family back to its original title, back to our roots."

"I see - that is going to take time. You know as well as I the prejudice of our world and you cannot simply state that you are a direct descendent of Morgana Le Fay, a woman is considered to be the Darkest Dark Lady of this land." Grimtooth remarked sounding very sceptical and truly Téa didn't blame him.

"I was just as sceptical as you were when I learned the truth of my lineage, but I have met the woman in question and she is a very kind and warm person who I deeply respect and look up to. Still, I understand that our world has a hard time adjusting to change and are set in their ways. I will have to slowly change their views by showing the true history. Thankfully, journals and diaries are inside the Le Fay Vault which will access today." She revealed earning a nod from the Goblin. "My next piece of business is my investments; do you have a list of them?"

"Indeed I do,"

Swiftly Grimtooth pulled the needed documents out and handed them over. If there was one file he continued to keep close it was the Potter Family's file. They were one of their most trusted clients not to mention often were friends of the Goblin Nation. It helped that they were considered one of the wealthiest families in their worlds.

Handing the document over, he watched as the newly turned Lady looked over the investments before humming. The Potter Family had made many investments in the past; of course, it only served to grow their endorsements of products and shops.

"There are still shares of the Daily Prophet available; I would like to purchase enough to become the main investor of the paper." She remarked and Grimtooth swiftly began taking notes of the investments she wished to do. "I also have here a signed document by Fred Weasley and George Weasley declaring me as a silent partner in their business Weasley' Wizard Wheezes."

Here she pulled a document out of her pocket and handed it over before continuing with her list. Amongst the investments, there was quite a few notable ones such as the Daily Prophet, The Three Broomsticks, the Hogshead, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour – which explained the free ice cream during the summer before her third year – Zonkos, The Nimbus Company as well as the Firebolt Company, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. Those were only the Magical ones as well, there were many muggle businesses that they were also invested in including one company she was all too familiar with, Grunnings.

"Drop my support for Zonkos to a minimal as I will be endorsing another joke shop from now on, as for this muggle business here, I want more shares." She declared a devilish smirk crossing her features.

It was hours later that Téa finally left Gringotts. Things had been settled perfectly and now she had in her possession very important books and journals not to mention the one journal she had intentionally gone to Gringotts to get. Now though – with stores opening – she was finally able to do the last part of her journey today, shopping.

She didn't know what the Order was thinking but she needed to get her school supplies before going to Hogwarts. There was no way she was going to fit in last year's school uniform, not to mention all the materials and potion supplies she needed and clothes in general. Shaking her head, she slipped her new bag – found in the Potter vault – over her shoulder and headed towards her first destination, Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions.

Slipping into the store she was swiftly welcomed by a young woman whose hair had been pulled up into a messy bun and who was dressed in a set of very well-tailored robes.

"Hello there, and good morning, not often I find somebody your age walking in her minutes after we open, what can I do for you?" She asked, voice light and bubbly.

"I need a new set of school robes," she answered, "I seem to have outgrown my old ones."

"Oh, of course, come we'll get you measured and fitted, did you wish to have any specific fabrics?" the woman asked while Téa stepped onto a pedestal. "We don't offer it much during the summer because of how many students we have to fit."

"What do you recommend?" She questioned curiously, she wasn't sure what the store could really offer as she had never asked.

"It would depend on what you're looking for. For example, we have broadcloth, also known as poplin it's a classic dress shirt fabric. We use it mainly in formal wear, as the fabric is much smoother, are lightweight and have a crisp appearance. Then we have the Oxford, they are more casual because they are generally made from rougher, more substantial yarns. They age well and get softer over time. We have Pinpoint which is a mixture of both Oxford and Broadcloth, the result ends with a shirt that is both dressy and casual. They are heavier and have a crisp appearance. Finally, we have Twill, they are harder to clean, yet they are softer, wrinkle less and easier to iron." The woman, Tabatha if that was what her name tag read, explained while measuring Téa. "We use Oxford most times unless specified differently,"

"Hum, I think I'd like to try one Pinpoint and two oxfords please," she answered earning a smile.

"Pants or Skirts?"

"One pair of pants, three pairs of skirts,"

"The skirts will be made with Flannel and the pants with linen, what house are you in?"

"Gryffindor," she answered earning a nod from the woman before soon she was being fitted with a new set of school uniforms.

"What about the outer robe, we have the normal then we have the most expensive, Accrumentula silk, which is so comfortable. I had one my last year of Hogwarts and I regret not getting on for all my years."

"Sounds perfect," Téa agreed, earning a nod from the woman before she continued to work.

It took about an hours' time and a promise that her order would be done within two hours but Téa left very pleased with her uniform. She would gather it on her way home when she had completed the rest of her shopping trip. The next stop before her was the bookstore, not only for schoolbooks but personal ones as well.

Entering the store, she swiftly grabbed a feather light basket before heading towards the first ill she wanted, Potions. Looking through several, she grabbed a number, before going to the next section which happened to be Transfiguration. By the time she arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts she had a large number already and it would only grow now that she was in one of her favourite subjects.

Picking several higher level books that peaked her interest, she moved to other sections until finally, she was satisfied with her pick. Heading to the counter she smiled to at the teller before swiftly placing her books on the counter. As the entire order was scanned through, she swiftly packed away the books and using her wand sent them to Grimmauld Place. Now she needed Potion ingredients, a cauldron or two, and other items. If she was going to be brewing, this she needed to do it in secret and it would only be in the Chamber of Secrets that she could do so.

Entering the store, she wrinkled her nose before pushing past the stench and moving to gather various ingredients. First was her school supplies which were easily purchased and set aside before the more – unique ingredients joined the pile. By the end of it, she had a large quantity. This grouping she couldn't use magic to send back but thankfully bags were offered in these situations to make carrying it all around easier. Heading out she made her way to her last stop in the magical alley, the pet store for treats for Hedwig. Then she would head to Muggle London for her normal clothes and undergarments, not to mention feminine needs.

…

It was hours later that Téa arrived back at Grimmauld Place. As she slipped through the doors to Headquarters, she placed her bags down before shrugging off her cloak and pulling her new sunglasses off. As the hood fell, away it revealed her newly cut hair which was still long and her unique colour but healthier.

Content with her purchases she had just gathered her bags once more when Sirius appeared in the hallway looking both worried and seemingly relieved.

"You are in big trouble young lady but let's get you upstairs before Molly hears you're back." The man scolded her before moving to help her with her bags. Yet it seemed they had no need as Kreacher swiftly appeared and with a snap of his fingers her bags were gone.

"I really have to thank Kreacher more," she remarked, amusement clear in her voice before she motioned Sirius to lead the way upstairs.

"He only answers honestly to you, I don't understand but hey if he's staying out of our way and working on the house that's great to see. Actually, I've never seen it cleaner," Sirius commented while walking up the stairs. "Now while we're heading up to see what the hell you bought during your shopping trip you can answer my questions. Why did you leave alone? I would have gone with you, you know, it's not very safe out there at the moment, especially for you. Poppy said you would take a month to recover."

"Sirius, I'm fine really, as for why I went alone. I really don't think you wanted to sit through hours of Gringotts business not to mention all the clothing stores I went into. I also had to get new undergarments and really you would not have wanted to be there for that." She laughed earning a pout from the man.

"I've never once taken you to Diagon Alley Téa, I wanted my chance." He complained yet she gave him a smile.

"You can take me next year Sirius and treat me like a little Princess for all I care. This year I needed to stay out of the public eye as much as possible and although you have been, free for a while, you are still popular amongst the people of Diagon Alley for helping during the attack." She remarked before they both froze as they heard Molly's voice carry up to them.

"Is Téa back yet, I swore I heard her voice, that girl is going to be grounded for what she did."

Eyes wide she stared at Sirius who shook his head before silently they hurried to her room. Entering it she found all her bags on her bed, including her books. The moment Sirius noticed it all a soft whistle left his lips.

"Wow, I'm impressed, that is a lot of shopping done in a few hours' time." He remarked making her laugh.

"Just some books, clothes, potion ingredients and other things, had to get a bigger trunk to fit it all. Want to help me pack, you can filter through the books I bought." She offered, knowing the man also wanted to spend more time with her.

"Sure kiddo, let's see this new trunk of yours." He ordered and with a happy grin she skipped over to one bag and pulled out what looked like a little toy trunk. With a whispered word, the trunk grew to its normal size which was just a bit bigger than her last trunk but inside it was ten times as big.

"Multi-compartment, impressive," Sirius commented while looking at the trunk.

It was a nice one, made of a dark wood with iron cladding. He swiftly recognised the Potter Family Crest upon its lid. When Téa opened it, the first compartment was revealed showing ample room for clothes that was swiftly folded and packed away.

Going through the books, he swiftly noticed titles that were easily NEWT level. The defence was nothing but with the exception of the class book. They zeroed in on curses their counters and various offensive spells that would help a person in a duel and anybody looking to be an auror.

The books that surprised him the most were the Potion books. He wasn't certain but to his knowledge Téa hated potions. Why she had so many, not to mention two extra cauldrons and so many potion supplies she could open a potion store was beyond him.

"You suddenly interested in potions?" he asked catching her attention as she looked up.

"Yeah, sort of I mean it's better when Snape's not teaching me, but I had a good teacher while I was in that adventure of mine. She taught me the basics and made it fun. Plus I have a project that is really important and I need to succeed at it." She explained before looking back at her folding.

"Whats this project?" He asked curiously, Potions weren't something you simply played with because you had nothing to do. They could bring great danger to the brewer if not done correctly.

"It's an important potion, I – I could change the life of somebody I know and I really want it to work. For now, that's all I'm saying and you're the first person I tell this to." She answered before biting her lip, as though nervous he would object.

"As long as you take precautions and are safe. Don't drink any potions you think are wrong or that haven't been tested before." He warned making her smile. "Where will you be brewing it?"

"The Chamber of Secrets – I think. It's one of the only places I can be sure no student or teacher walks in on me brewing it and I need to make sure its perfect so I'm taking my precautions."

"Sounds fair, wards?" He asked curiously while raising the book so that Téa could look at it.

"Runs in the family apparently, plus they are interesting and a challenge,"

"Alright kiddo, I need to ask, what are you not telling me about your – adventure as you call it. I mean I know you haven't spoken much about it but I would have thought you would have revealed a bit more than what you did." Sirius finally asked yet his question had Téa frowning before she slowly put the last piece of clothing away and shut hat compartment.

"My – adventure – was not what others would call fun Sirius. The only thing I actually enjoyed were the lessons I did with my teachers. I had different ones, from different eras. I meant two members of my family and one member of yours. All my teachers taught me different things; things that helped me survive and would help me survive in this world." She whispered before slowly sitting down.

"What were your teachers like?" Sirius asked, glad to finally having her talking to him about what happened. Of course, he was also extremely curious.

"They were all different, and from different times actually. Regulus was the more – modern – teacher I had. Actually one of my teachers was Helga Hufflepuff."

"What! No way!"

"Yes way, she was brilliant Sirius, she's the one that got me interested in Potions again, brilliant teacher and so nice." Just thinking about the Founder of Hufflepuff had Téa smiling and thinking about her. "She's nothing like History says but of course History is clouded in lies and half-truths."

"Where they all nice?" Sirius asked yet Téa snorted.

"I had one of my ancestors, Thanatos Potter, ever hear of him?" She asked curiously earning a snort from Sirius.

"I did, he was Minister of Magic at one point. The last on in the Potter family although you grandfather came close." Sirius told her making her eyes sparkle at the new knowledge on her family.

"Well the guy was a pompous wizard but – he could teach. He told me about the Ancient and Noble Families not to mention the ranking within the wizengamot and other important things I should have been told ages ago. I also learned more family based magic," she answered while thinking back to her small necromancer lessons with the man.

Slowly she told Sirius about her lessons, earning chuckles at some points and proud remarks at others. The man listened with complete interest and focus as she told him everything she wanted. By the time dinner came her trunk was only half packed yet the duo had been sitting comfortable, talking and getting to know one another a bit better.

When they entered the kitchen they were found everybody already gathered and the moment they set eyes on Téa, most looked relieved but some looked angry, such as Molly.

"And when exactly did you return young lady?" The Weasley mother questioned furiously.

"A few hours ago, Sirius and I have been bonding together." She answered while slipping into a seat beside him.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were young lady, you did not have permission to leave Headquarters! You could have been killed or kidnapped!" The woman exclaimed.

"Molly," Sirius began, voice stern as he placed a hand on his goddaughter's shoulder stopping her from speaking. "Téa isn't an animal that can be caged in. She did not ask for our protection and to be honest, sometimes I think she doesn't need it as much as we would think. She's a talent witch and able to defend herself, especially with all I have learned tonight. I believe she is perfectly capable of fighting off an attack if one had come upon her. As it is, none did and that is probably because nobody recognised her with her hair the colour it is,"

"But – She's not your daughter Molly," Remus spoke up, also standing beside the teen. "You must accept that Sirius is her godfather, he will punish her if he sees feet to do so."

Téa felt her cheek warm up as both men stood up for her. It felt nice to have people defend her choices and support her. The fact that both men thought she was responsible enough and old enough to do what she thought best was even better.

"We knew she needed supplies for school and we did nothing to get them for her. Téa acted responsibly, yes I would have liked to be told that she was going out so that I may join her but going out on her own also gave her the ability to blend in a bit more. Now the matter is shut, I won't hear anything else on it." Sirius finished and although the woman was still not pleased she had no choice but to concede that was until Ginny piped up.

"Wow Téa, that's a signet ring!"

Instantly all attention was upon the young Potter's ring hand and everybody swiftly noticed the new headship ring upon her finger. A soft grin formed on the girls face before she looked around the room with a look that was pure mischief.

"Well Ginny, this signet ring is actually the Headship ring, I claimed it today when I became the Head of the Potter Family meaning I am now Lady Potter." She explained causing complete silence in the room.

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 _ **Preview to a new story:**_

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The Ministry was in turmoil as Aurors hurried from one place to another. A major magical blast had been noticed in a muggle area, which had alerted the Misuse of Magic department, which requested the help of Aurors for the situation.

Amelia Bones was one such person, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she was rather curious to see who had been able to produce such a magical blast. With a location in hand, she led a small group to the muggle area, appearing in a more privet setting before hurrying towards their destination.

Neither was ready to see the site before them, rows upon rows of identical houses, each with immaculate lawns yet it was the gathering of muggle law enforcement and paramedics that caught their attention the most. The large group was gathered before one of the houses, a Number Four Privet Drive and as Amelia approached, she gave a view of her badge, which earned her, and the others access to the scene.

"The boy's a freak!" Came a bellow of rage forcing them all to turn and see a large man being pulled towards a police officer's car.

He was fighting against them, face purple in rage as spit flew from his mouth. It took four officers to detain him and push him into the vehicle.

"The boy contaminates everything around him! He used his freakishness to get everything! I should have killed him when he was a baby, drowned him in the tub before he could grow to learn to be more freakish! Now look at him! Turning himself into – into that! The boy should be killed!" The man continued yet his shouts soon became muffled, as the door to the car was slammed shut.

"Ma'am –" Murmured Auror Nymphadora Tonks as she looked around, a worried look on her face.

"We need to know what the bloody hell is going on here, Kingsley, notify the Ministry, inform him that we need to have a joint team on this case. Clearly one of our own is involved. I'll soon see who it is," Amelia ordered before moving towards the house. Before she could enter, she was forced to move aside as a gurney came out, three paramedics around it each looking very worried.

Looking down at the figure on the gurney, Amelia immediately spotted the long auburn hair that fell passed pale thin shoulders. The girl was only just taller than a twelve-year-old and was extremely pale and thin yet what stood out the most was the lightning bolt scar upon the girl's forehead.

Eyes widening in shock she turned to Kingsley who hurried to catch up with her as she followed the paramedics.

"I have a feeling this concerns Harry Potter, inform the Ministry that this must be kept between us and a special team of investigators from the muggle side, make sure nothing magical is found inside the house until then, have the others handle the scene as best they can. I'll go with the child, something is definitely not right here and it isn't simply the clear signs of an abusive household. I'll inform you of any updates I may have." She declared which had Kingsley shooting the gurney a worried look before he gave a nod of agreement.

"Of course ma'am,"

With that, he left and she hurried to climb into the ambulance without protests from the paramedics. The moment the doors were shut the ambulance took off and Amelia watched as the three muggles worked to stabilise the teen better than one took a radio and began speaking into it.

"We have a preteen, female, looking around twelve with bruises, broken arm, cracked ribs and head injury heading into Ashtead Hospital. The patient is also showing signs of a very high fever, irregular pulse and dehydration. She's malnourished and has a large sunburn on her shoulders showing she might be suffering from a heat stroke. The most notable wound is the gunshot wound -"

As the information entered Amelia's mind, she couldn't help but stare at the child who was being hooked up to all sorts of muggle medical equipment. The teen was tiny, even more so when the paramedics showed one of her wrists to show it was almost only bone. Yet that wasn't the only thing she was questioning in her mind.

How could this be Harry Potter? It was a well-known fact that the boy was well a boy yet here before her, was evidence that said otherwise. The child before her was clearly female in body and looked very different from the pictures she had seen of the boy.

Harry Potter had short messy black hair; this girl had long auburn hair. Not the same colour as Lily Potters at all, actually it was far more similar to her own hair colour when she had been younger. Her skin tone was also very wrong, Harry Potter had been described as slightly tanned yet this girl had a pale complexion. Something was not right here and she knew had had something to do with magic. Something had happened to the Potter Heir and nothing would be figured out until they were able to have Healers examine her and perhaps a Curse Breaker.

Pulled from her thoughts as they came to a stop, Amelia hurried from the ambulance and followed the gurney as they led it into the hospital. The moment they did, they were greeted by nurses and doctors who hurriedly took over and Amelia was forced to remain behind as she watched the teen go into a restricted section of the hospital.

"Bloody hell," she groaned tiredly feeling more and more exhausted as she moved to sit on one of the chairs. "This is going to turn into a bloody mess,"

Resting her head in her hands, she tried to calm herself yet she had no luck as a moment later a figure approached her forcing her to look up to find a Healer she knew all too well.

"Amelia, I hear we have one of our own in the emergency room with a gunshot wound," Healer Chalisse White greeted looking serious and composed if not a bit worried.

"We do, but there are more questions than what happened here Chalisse, I have my strong suspicions that the girl is Harry Potter. I simply don't understand how it is possible," she confessed earning a wide eyes look from the Healer before she sat down a thoughtful look in place.

"Well, there is a reasonable explanation that we could follow. You as well as I know what happened during the first war. Children were kidnapped, their appearance changed to fit the needs of others some were found, others were abandoned. It is quite possible that Harry Potter was one of those children." Healer Chalisse concluded softly before she turned to Amalia. "I'll contact Gringotts see if we can borrow one of their better Curse Breakers once we have access to the young patient. For now, could you tell me what happened?"

"I don't know much Chalisse," Amelia confessed tiredly. "We were summoned to the scene after Misuse of Magic informed us about a large magical blast in the area. We arrived to see what had caused it only to find muggle law enforcement and medical personnel already there. Gaining access, we saw one large man being arrested while the paramedics were transporting the – patient – from the house. I strongly suspect abuse by what the man was shouting, and the paramedics were saying things like heat stroke, and other things."

"I see, this is truly a sad case," Chalisse whispered sorrowfully.

It was well-known fact that the abuse of a child in a magical family was punishable by life imprisonment in Azkaban. Children were considered a life blessing to the magical world as they lived long lives yes but their numbers were not as large as they once were. A child was precious to their world.

"I have Kingsley informing Fudge of the situation, we need to make sure that this case is handled by both parties who know of one another. It's imperative if we want to have the charges stick on both ends." Amelia remarked earning a nod from Chalisse.

"Good, I already have our end covered, the main surgeon working on the patient is my cousin, he's a muggle who knows about the magical world," Chalisse revealed before placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll find out the truth but for now let's keep the reporters as far away from this as we can,"

"That I can agree with."

Privet Drive was still a mess as a new set of law enforcement arrived on scene. This team was unique in a sense that they all knew about the magical world in part because of family members. They had also worked with Aurors in the past during other cases that needed the two worlds to communicate.

Officer Patrick Holmes approached Number Four with a critical eye. He had worked with Auror Kingsley Shackelbolt in the past. The man was a good law enforcement agent and calm. To know he was handling this investigation was a bit relaxing.

"Officer Holmes, welcome to Number Four Privet Drive," the man in question greeted as the officer entered the house.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had not changed an ounce since their last meeting. He was still tall, wearing his traditional purple and gold robes that had him standing out and had a sense of calmness around him that had everybody else calming down.

"Kingsley, I'd say it was nice seeing you again but under the circumstances I will not. What do we have?" He asked while accepting the man's hand to shake.

"Case of child abuse," The man grunted, a small tone of displeasure making itself known. "Three muggles resided in this home along with a magical. Although at this time four muggles and a magical are living here, as there was a guest staying in the house as well. All three were detained although one is a minor and currently with child services while the investigation is being handled."

"I see, I was told that extreme secrecy had to be handled with this case, that reporters were not to be included until all the facts were known." Officer Holmes remarked earning a nod from the man as he was led upstairs on the first floor.

"That's because of who the victim is. Our records show that this house is the home of one magical student whose currently attending Hogwarts, Harry Potter." Kingsley explained soberly.

"Wait – I've heard that name before, Harry Potter – Potter – I worked with Potter once, James Potter." Officer Holmes remarked earning a grunt from Kingsley.

"Harry Potter is James Potter's son when James Potter was killed with his wife on Halloween twelve years ago the boy was supposedly placed with his nearest relatives," Kingsley explained before he pushed the door to a room open. "The thing is Amelia Bones – who is at the hospital at the moment – informed me that it is entirely possible that Harry Potter is, in fact, one of the kidnapped children of war. We're not too certain which one yet but after the Muggle doctors have had their time healing what they can of the child we will be able to take over the care and find finish our investigation. The thing is, at the moment Harry Potter is considered a boy while the child who was taken from this house is in fact purely female."

"So either the girl was cross-dressing as a boy her entire life –" "Or she didn't know she was a she." Kingsley finished before motioning to the room.

* * *

Author note:

Alright, so not a very long chapter but I had to tie up some loose ends before sending Téa back to Hogwarts and yes next chapter she's off to Hogwarts! As for the store preview for a new one, it's in the works and I'm really getting a good start on it. It should be posted on its own shortly. Give you feedback on it!

Happy Thanks Giving people!


	28. Chapter twenty-eight

_**Chapter Twenty-eight**_

 _ **The Gossip Mill will flow with hundreds of whispers!**_

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

Téaleon Potter was nervous. Passing the length of the room was not helping either and although she wanted to stop, her feet seemed unable to stay still and so continued to lead her back and forth.

Tonight would be the first time she would be really seen in public since her return from the break of death. Yes, she had gone to Diagon Alley yet she had remained unnoticed to a certain extent. Now though that would all change and there was no doubt that question would be asked. She would not be able to walk around as though nobody knew her, people would recognise her once more and she would be in the public eye again.

Pacing by a mirror she finally came to a stop and although she was not one – or had not been one – for appearances in the past, she knew now that appearance did really matter and seeing as she was nervous the one thing she could fret about was her appearance.

She had changed so much since the last time she set foot in Hogwarts. Gone were her messy black curls, pale skin and skinny, short body. In its place was now a fifteen-year-old witch who stood at 5' 4" with a tiny waist, curvy hips and well-developed torso. Her hair was a beautiful silvery white colour, much more manageable and very striking especially combined with her more tanned complexion.

Yes, her appearance had changed but so had her voice in wardrobe. Anoria had made it a point to drill the notion of grooming and appearance into her brain. That was why she had switched from the boys uniform to the girls uniform, which was a huge difference for her, and would show off her figure more.

Her old uniform had consisted of pants and a shirt that was not tailored to her figure, now her uniform was tailored to her. The skirt was made of a stiff material allowing it to flare somewhat at her waist. Her crisp white blouse was tailored perfectly to her figure allowing her curves to shine through. To finish it all she wore thigh high stockings and knee high laced up boots that gave her a few more inches.

All and all she was different and people would no doubt noticed.

Drawing a tired sigh, she turned away from the mirror and turned back to the double doors of the Great Hall. Walking towards them, she waited for them to open, signalling her introduction. She had little time to wait as in a few minutes the doors began to open. Squaring her shoulders, she took one finally deep, calming breath before walking forward.

It took a little time for both the student body and staff to look her way, most in shock by her sudden return. Slowly that shock filtered away and students began to clap and cheer. At first, it all came from Gryffindor but soon the rest of the houses joined, some reluctantly.

Relaxing a bit, she made her way towards Gryffindor. As she walked forward, her eyes swiftly spotted the one person she was very happy to see. With a soft smile, she approached the young boy who was staring at her with wide happy eyes and a big smile.

"I would have picked Gryffindor as well," she remembered while gazing down at the eleven-year-old James Evans.

"Téa –" Whispered the boy before a grin formed on his face and he threw himself forward, arms wrapping around her midsection as he hugged her tightly.

"Hey kiddo, am I glad to see you, I knew Prongs would protect you," she whispered while hugging the boy back.

"I was worried something had happened to you, I'm glad you're okay," James mumbled before pulling back and giving her a grin. "I like the hair,"

Laughing softly, she placed a hand on his head and shuffled his hair before giving him a wink. "So do I, we'll talk later okay,"

Leaving the boy to retake his seat she made her way towards Hermione and Ron before gingerly taking a seat at Ginny's side.

"You think the elves made trickle tart?" The question made her three friends laugh while those around them slowly began to get out of their daze.

"I hope so, they make the best," Ginny giggle and it was then that the people around them finally did break from their shock.

"Bloody fuckin hell Téa what the hell did you do!" "I love your hair, it's so beautiful, how did you do it?" exclaimed Seamus and Lavender at the same time.

"It's good to have you back Téa it's not been the same since you weren't here." Neville greeted happily making Téa smile over at the normally shy boy.

"I'm very happy to be back Neville, as for my hair Lavender, a magical incident led to it, not heartbroken considering I love it. As for your question Seamus, it's confidential." She teased while giving him a wink. "I think the Headmaster had more announcements."

"Yes, it is wonderful to have one of our own returned," Dumbledore remarked. "I am certain Gryffindor will welcome her once in their common room, now onto other announcements, certain changes have happened in the staff. First please welcome Professor Horace Slughorn!"

Here a rather short Professor stood. He was about 5', and rather large as the buttons on his waistcoat seemed to want to burst off. The man was bald, with the exception of a silver walrus-like moustache.

"Professor Slughorn will be taking over potions from First years to Fifth years. Sixth to Seventh will be continued to be taught by Professor Snape." Dumbledore announced earning clapping from most of the students. "As no History of magic teacher has been located I have chosen to occupy the post until such a time a suitable replacement be found."

Here the cheers were louder as students seemed quite thrilled by the prospect of being taught by none other than Albus Dumbledore. It would no doubt be a very interesting class and many of them couldn't wait – even if it was History – to start.

"Onto a more sobering topic, after the attack on Diagon Alley, it has been decided that an Auror presence will guard Hogsmeade during visits. In addition, a buddy system will be put in place, no student should be alone, we are in dangerous times. It is imperative that you all understand the dangers yet we hope you won't have to face them." This made many students look around nervously, clearly some of them had not thought of the possibility that Voldemort and his Death Eaters would attack Hogsmeade during a visit. "Teachers will also be present as usual, and other safety measures have been put in place to assure your safety. On a more interesting note, and after speaking with Professor Lupin, it has been decided that all students from Third to Seventh year will report to the Great Hall every Saturday at 8:00 Am to learn the Patronus Charm." Here the Headmaster turned to Professor Lupin who stood and addressed the hall.

"The lessons are mandatory, I also understand that your numbers are bigger than normal classes, I have persuaded the help of an individual who has mastered the Patronus Charm. Téaleon Potter has agreed to help me in teaching you all the charm seeing as she has been able to perform it since she was thirteen years old. Her experience with the spell will help tremendously." With that, he retook his seat and the Headmaster continued on.

"Now then, with all our announcement made, let us begin dinner," As those words were spoken, food appeared on al the tables and the noise level rose as students began to discuss their upcoming lessons and the changes to the staff.

"Did he ask you?" Hermione hurried to ask, eyes wide in surprise as she gazed at her friend who calmly took some food onto her plate.

"Yes, got my opinion, thought it would be a brilliant idea," She answered rather relaxed about the situation. "The Patronus Charm is said to be a very hard spell to produce but I am positive everybody can produce one,"

"What about the future Death Eaters?" Ron questioned softly earning a raised eyebrow from his friends. "Hey I've grown up, I know not all Slytherin's are evil, look at Nott, his own father was being controlled for years, but there are some that will follow their parents, that won't go against them," Ron remarked earning a nod from Téa.

"Sadly that is true. Some won't be swayed away from their families, some truly believe that what Voldemort says is right. However, I am still going to teach them how to defend themselves against the Dementors because it is the right thing to do. They will be near them more then we will, considering the Dementors are on their side," Téa explained before taking a bite of her chicken. "Ginny – you're still playing Seeker,"

That statement, which was a complete change of conversation, had Ginny looking up in surprise yet Téa simply continued to eat.

"Wow, Téa you're the best Seeker in Gryffindor, you should be taking back the position," Ginny argued yet Téa shook her head.

"You've played all year; you play the rest and keep using the Firebolt, if need be I'll play as a reserve," she remarked before taking a bite of her glazed carrots. "Morgana I've missed Hogwarts food,"

"But Téa it's your position, I don't –" "I have to catch up with my studies Red, I have my O.W.L's this year plus I'm going to be doing a bit of a side project, I don't have time to play Quidditch right now."

"Oh right – I guess after that you have a lot to catch up on," Ginny whispered s that few heard and those who did were left confused.

"You are a great Seeker Red, don't let my return tell you otherwise." Téa murmured while wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder and hugging her. "Can't wait to see you in a game,"

The blush that covered the fourth year's cheeks was very cut and made Téa laugh. Pulling away she ignored the glare Ginny sent her in favour of continuing her meal.

"Don't change Red,"

As dinner went on, Téa could hear that most of the conversations were about her or the new Professor. It was rather amusing to hear the theories for her silver hair, yet nobody came close and she highly doubted anybody would. Still, after years of hearing people talk about her, she didn't care. Finally, though dinner passed and the trio chose to head to Gryffindor tower.

Passing by Ravenclaw, table though téa noticed the little blonde girl that had helped her when she had appeared at Hogwarts.

"What a minute guys," hurrying towards the table she saw many stop their conversation but didn't care. "Hi Luna right, you helped me earlier this year, I wanted to thank you properly." She greeted earning a small smile in return.

"You don't have Barbons fluttering around you," The little blonde murmured lightly making Téa smile even if she was slightly confused by that statement.

"Thanks, maybe at some point we can talk more, you're very interesting to talk to and I'd like the chance to get to know you better. Don't feel shy okay and any help you need just ask,"

With that, she gave the blonde a wink and left. Rejoining with Ron and Hermione, they continued to walk.

"You know that was Looney Lovegood right?" Ron asked curiously.

"You know she helped me right, so she's different than others, nothing wrong with different," Téa answered before turning slightly to catch a glimpse of the blonde. What she saw she didn't like, – Ravenclaws glaring at the petite blonde.

Something wasn't right with the Ravenclaw house and she had a strong suspicion she knew what. It would just be another item on her to-do list which seemed to be growing longer and longer.

Walking along the halls gained them some attention from the portraits who hurried to greet Téa who greeted back. The ghost also greeted her with warm welcomes. As they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady they earned a large smile.

"Welcome back dear, it's good to see you three together again," the woman greeted making the trio grin.

"It's good to be back together, plus I missed Hogwarts," Téa remarked before Ron gave the password allowing the portrait to open.

Entering through the hall they swiftly arrived in the common room and Téa stopped. Hogwarts was her home, had been since she set foot inside it. Gryffindor Common room held an even deeper meaning; a safety that was nowhere else had given her. She had missed the warm wood and the reds of the décor, the leather chairs and sofas that always had throw blankets for people to cuddle with. She had missed everything about it.

"It's nice to be back," she whispered content to see the place.

"Afraid we haven't been spending that much time here, not the way some of the Gryffindor's were talking earlier this year," Ron grunted while looking around at the empty room.

"Yes, you told me, well I can't wait to see where you guys hung out most of the time but right now I think it would be best if I unpacked." She remarked earning a nod of agreement from Hermione.

"Yeah, before Parvati and Lavender see your wardrobe," the brunette teased earning a shake of the head from Ron.

"I'm going to go unpack as well; at least I don't have as much as you, especially after that shopping trip." He grunted earning a playful glare from Téa.

"Not my fault I outgrew practically everything I owned," she grumbled before heading up to their dorm.

Arriving in their own dorm, Téa swiftly found her bed – or section. The desk was empty, the bed had neatly been made but nothing was there that was personal with the exception of her trunk that had been set up at the foot of her bed. The other three sections were vastly decorated to suit the taste of its occupants. On Parvati and Lavender's side, there were magazines, tonnes of make-up and clothes thrown everywhere it was the fashion hot spot of the dorm. There were even posters of some hot guys. On Hermione's side, her bookshelf had been covered in the girl's books and a few other knickknacks here and there. Her desk was covered in parchment and inkbottles.

"Why don't I help you?" Hermione offered, making her smile.

Walking over she swiftly opened the trunk to the clothing section and began unpacking. While shopping for her wardrobe she had made sure to make it so that it represented a more professional matter as well as having some fun and unique items mixed in. She was the Lady of a Family now but that didn't mean she had to dress like one all the time, she was still a teenage girl.

"Why did you get leather pants?" Hermione suddenly asked, while holding up the pair so that Téa could see.

"First leather pants are cool," this earned a snort from the brunet. "Second they are good for quidditch," "which you are not playing this year," the brunette remarked, "Third they make my butt look good," she chuckled earning a roll of the eyes from her female best friend.

"You never used to care about your appearance, now you have a whole new wardrobe that's both classy and fun with a few sexier things involved. Why did you change it so much?" Hermione asked while placing the pair of leather pants on a hanger and hanging them in the wardrobe.

"We want to know too!" Both Lavender and Parvati exclaimed as they hurried through the door, eyes wide with a sparkle that screamed trouble. "Like look at you Téa you're wearing the girls uniform and you look hot!"

Staring at the two girls in surprise, Téa could stop the small blush that covered her cheeks before she turned to her clothes again.

"An image is important, no matter what people say. I had a teacher who taught me that. Not to mention as the Lady of the Potter family I must dress appropriately," she exclaimed hoping the two fashion monsters of their year would leave it at that.

"Wait a second you claimed Headship of the Potter Family!" Parvati exclaimed sounding rather shocked by the admission.

"Yes, time of war allows me to do that, as I am the last Potter of the main line."

"Wow, it's just – what about marriage contracts?" Lavender whispered forcing Hermione attention on the subject.

"What marriage contracts?" The brunette questioned a frown marring her features.

"Marriage contracts used to be very popular in the magical world, actually they were very common throughout the world until the 18th century. Typically, parents, grandparents or other relatives arranged marriages yet in our world, it took a bigger step. The Head of the Family was always responsible for Marriage contracts, as they were meant to strengthen the family's wealth or political power. Even today they are used by different families. The contracts were either enacted of a fee paid to the families to skip a generation. It was also possible to pay out the contract completely or if both families came to an understanding, void it." Téa explained for her friend who looked both curious and horrified.

"That's – that's," "History Hermione and tradition." Téa hurried to step in knowing her friend's strong thoughts on many of the magical world's tradition. "Thankfully for the Potter family, there are no marriage contracts in place. The last marriage contract enacted by my family was for the marriage of Dorea Black and Charles Potter."

"Still I mean it's so old fashion," Hermione mumbled earning a sigh from Téa.

"Old fashion in the magical world means tradition Hermione, purebloods – some of them anyway – didn't want their blood supposedly soiled, for instance, the Black family." She began while handing over several articles to her friend for her to put away. "Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix were all contracted to different families. Andromeda was supposed to marry Lucius as she was the oldest and at the time the Malfoys were influentially high. "Bellatrix was always contracted to the Lestrange Family while Narcissa was originally supposed to marry Arthur Weasley."

"Wow, what!" Hermione exclaimed shocked by the revelation.

"Yes ironic, when Andromeda eloped with her husband the contract was broken and so to appease the Malfoy family Narcissa was offered instead. The Weasley's agreed to nullify the contract as they saw that their own son loved another. There were no hard feelings between the families yet I suspect part of the reason Lucius hates Mr Weasley so much is because he was supposed to be Narcissa's husband before him." Done unpacking her clothes she shut the trunk and opened it on another compartment.

"Wow that is just – could you imagine, Narcissa Malfoy living at the Burrow?" Hermione asked earning a chuckle from Téa. "I understand that traditions are important but shouldn't we be getting over some of the more outdated ones?"

"Well some are outdated yes but others were important to magic and were forced aside when the muggle born population began to thrive. It's the reason some people don't like muggle borns because they forced many of their newer items upon us." Téa explained before pulling one book out and reading the title. Without a look at the cover, she put it back in the trunk, as she would only be placing a select few of her books on her shelves. "In the past, the magical world would celebrate different festivals, not Christmas or Halloween like you know it now. For instance, before it started to do Halloween we used to celebrate Samhain. Samhain signifies the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Large bonfires would be held, with music, dancing and festivities. We would also give offerings to magic, for thanks. Now Hogwarts celebrates Halloween, what was once a muggle celebration. People barely offer anything to magic in thanks for what she has given us."

"How did you learn all of this, you were raised in the muggle world just like me?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I had a teacher – a very good teacher – who wanted me to know the past of the world I live in. Taught me things that everybody in our world should know not just a select few." She answered, eyes darkening in sadness as she remembered her teachers.

…

Theodore Nott was curious, it had been a long time since he had been curious yet the newly returned Téaleon Potter was certainly a subject that confused him. When he had first met the heir to the Potter family, he had not been very impressed. She had been small, with messy black hair in wild curls wearing the boy's uniform, which was still a bit too big for her. The only beautiful thing about her back then had been her shy smile and her bright emerald green eyes.

Now though everything had changed, or at least almost everything about Téaleon Potter had changed.

"I am curious to learn how she got her hair to be that colour," Blaise Zabini remarked as he settled into an armchair at his right. "Although damn that uniform of hers certainly looks very pleasant."

"What do you make of the new changes?" He questioned, eyes looking over the other occupants of Slytherin common room before landing on Draco Malfoy who looked rather pale.

"Well somebody finally taught her some etiquette," Hestia Carrow contributed as she also took a seat followed by her sister Flora. "The way she held herself showed confidence not to mention walking in those heels when I've only ever seen her walk in flat shoes. She's also been taking care of her appearance, as her make-up was simple yet well applied and her hair was tamed."

"I prefer the silver colour on her, it looks very striking," Flora said quietly.

"I wonder if she's still like before, thinking we're all future Death Eaters," Theodore sneered earning a chuckle from Blaise.

"Come, my friend, everybody knows that you'd never join that rat infested excuse for a faction. The way they controlled your father, the way they made him treat you. It's not something that can be easily repaired – the relationship you both have." Blaise remarked before drawing a sigh. "Of course she has been – missing would that be the right term for it – for half the school year. It's possible nobody told her of what happened. Of course, it is also very likely that somebody did tell her but all we are doing is speculating."

"I think it would be best if we simply observed and waited for her to show us her sides. It wouldn't do well to underestimate the Heir to the Potter Family," Flora murmured contemplatively.

* * *

 **Author note:**

Okay wow! That chapter took longer to write than I thought it would, I seemed to have the need to write in by pen instead of on a computer. Of course, I also had to take a bit of time off as we lost our family dog who died suddenly. The best thing for us to do though was to remember him fondly and to keep going on. He was a much-loved dog, spoiled rotten and a big marshmallow. For those looking for a dog, I strongly recommend a Labrador or a Lab mix. Our dog was a Lab Rot mix, he was extremely protective, gentle, and you never felt in danger when with him.


	29. Chapter Twenty-nine

_**Chapter twenty-nine**_

 _ **Arg, they could have chosen a better picture.**_

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* * *

...

It was early morning as Téa woke up. Cancelling her alarm, even though it had yet to go off, she clambered out of bed. Pulling her arms over her head she stretched carefully while letting a yawn leave her lips. A quick check of what time it was showed that it was only 5:42 in the morning. With breakfast at 7:30 and classes starting at 9:00 she had plenty of time for her planned morning workout.

Thankfully Hermione had told her the location of the Room of Requirements the night before. That meant she had the perfect location for her workout considering the amount of snow that was on the ground.

Getting up, she made her way to her wardrobe and dug around for her workout clothes, once in hand she made her way to their shared bathroom.

Every dorm level had a bathroom that was meant to be shared between the girls on that level. It wasn't a very big bathroom. It had a toilet, two vanities, and a shower. A window looked out over the grounds and shed some natural light into the room.

Shutting the door she swiftly brushed her teeth before getting changed into her outfit of choice, a pair of tight fitting black shorts, a black sports bra and over that a somewhat oversized t-shirt that hung off one shoulder. Slipping socks on then her running shoes she pulled her hair into a ponytail before leaving the bathroom.

Stashing her bedclothes away she left the dorm, making sure to grab her water bottle as she went. Considering how early it was in the morning, she had no , about being seen by the rest of Gryffindor house as they were all still asleep.

Since waking up after her journey she had realised that sleeping past six in the morning would be a thing of the past, she never slept long, not anymore. It was a major factor as to why she had chosen to workout in the morning.

Leaving the tower she began the journey to the seventh floor. She was very curious to learn just what this room did or could provide her for her workout. If it proved to be just as useful as Hermione and Ron said it was, then she was most definitely going to us it for more than just training.

Walking through the silent halls, she began to contemplate her day ahead. Today would be her first day back in school since the end of her fourth year. Yes, she had received lessons, lessons from dead people which was odd in its own right but she was rather certain that Blood magic, Necromancy, Etiquette and family History wasn't going to be on her O.W.L's, not to mention Human transfiguration as they weren't supposed to start learning that until next year. The fact was, she was behind even with the notes Hermione had given her to look through during the Christmas holidays.

"Well, I'll just have to prioritise," she mumbled to herself before finally arriving at the right section of the seventh floor. Looking around she found nobody around and so began to walk back and forth while thinking of what she needed.

I need a place to workout physically. She thought repeatedly while passing back and forth. After the third pass a door appeared just as she had been told.

Not wanting to be caught staring at a seemingly innocent door, she walked forward and with the confidence of a Gryffindor turned the handle and opened the door. The moment she stepped into the room she froze in shock. The room she found herself in was huge!

On one side a track course was set up, giving the perfect place to run. On the other side, there was muggle muscle equipment - how they got there was beyond her - and against the far wall was a muggle rock wall with magically modified harness'.

"Okay I'm amazed, and this is just the first time I use it," she whispered before a grin formed on her face. "I think I'm going to like this."

...

7:45 AM found both Ron and Hermione seated at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, breakfast already before them. People who were also in the Great Hall swiftly noticed the absence of the silver hair Potter. Some began to whisper until Téa walked in, a bounce to her step which only seem to make the boys in the school stare a bit longer.

As she took her seat she shot her two friends a bright smile before placing food onto her plate, starved after her workout.

"Morning,"

"Where did you go this morning, you were gone before I woke up," Hermione asked making Téa's smile grow.

"I went for a workout in that room you were telling me about. You were right by the way its really amazing and I can't wait to see what else it could do, it has so much potential." She remarked before taking a bite of her bacon. "The House Elves are also really nice. They brought me my uniform so that I could wash and change while I was there."

"Since when do you workout?" Rona asked, surprised by the information.

"Well during my journey I had more than a few physical aspects to deal with, it just made sense to build on those and continue to work my body. Plus, this might give me an advantage if I meet Death Eaters." She explained earning a grin from Ron.

"Well, at least I have one person to work out with," This made Hermione groan while Téa laughed.

"I don't think you're willing to wake up at the time I'm up Ron, but sure whenever you want I'll work out with you if I can." She told her best male friend. "So what do we have today?"

"It's Thursday so we have Potions first thing this morning and Astronomy tonight," Hermione answered after consulting their time's table. "I'm curious to learn more about Professor Slughorn, I looked him up you know, out of curiosity."

"Oh do tell Hermes, because I don't think I can handle another Snape," Ron grumbled and silently Téa agreed with him.

"He used to teach at Hogwarts back when Professor Dumbledore was still teaching. I think he started in 1931 and retired in 1981." Hermione began looking thoughtful yet this information peaked Téa's interest.

"So he taught Tom when he was a student and he also taught my parents," she remarked earning thoughtful looks from both her friends.

"Also taught my parents then, so he was here a while," Ron added.

"Anything else to add?"

"Plenty, Professor Horace Eugene Flaccus Slughorn," "Blimey they had a thing for long names in that time," Ron grunted earning a glare from Hermione for interrupting her,

"Is a Pureblood wizard, born into the wealthy and pure blooded Slughorn family. He was sorted into Slytherin House when he came to Hogwarts and became a Potion Master not long after that. In 1931 he was hired to teach here at Hogwarts, potions to be exact. Some time later he was selected as the Head of Slytherin House."

"Holly crap Hermione, what did you do read the man's bio?" Téa asked curiously yet Hermione continued on.

"He founded a small club, but it only consisted of students he thought were particularly talented, ambitious, or simply well connected, it's informally known as the Slug Club and to my knowledge, he put it back into motion. He'll most probably want to recruit you Téa, being the girl who lived and all."

"Not to mention the Lady of the Potter Family." Téa laughed softly, amused by the prospect of being recruited into a club like that.

"Rumour has it he never really got along with the students of his own house, Umbridge was a Slytherin, but still treated all of his students reasonably well."

Looking to the Staff table, Téa didn't find the large Potion master present. Learning that Slughorn had taught Riddle was interesting but the fact remained if he did have a club like what Hermione had said that meant the Riddle would most likely have been picked as a member of the club. If there was one thing Tom had it was ambition, followed by the talent and charm he held about him she was certain that he was close to Slughorn. The fact also was he was the boy's Head of House, he would have known him very well and was possible that he knew something nobody else knew about the Dark Lord. She would need to get close to the man to find out and being a member of the so-called Slug Club might just give her that opening she needed.

"He and Dumbledore have been friends for years," Hermione mumbled.

"Well, we'll see what will happen, won't we. I'm sure he'll surprise us," she mumbled softly before turning to her breakfast. "After Potions, I'm going to head to the library,"

"Already? I mean I've done my fair share of being in the library this year but today's the first day back, your first day back, do you really want to spend it in the library?" Ron asked making Téa smile.

"Not really but I need to catch up on things Ron, its O.W.L year and I did get half the lessons you guys did. I have a lot of catching up to do." She admitted.

"We'll help you Téa, can't have you getting horrible marks this year especially."

Just then the sound of owls had them all looking upwards. The post was being delivered and the unmistakable snowy owl hurried to Gryffindor table, on its heal another owl.

"Good job Hedwig," she praised as the owl landed upon her shoulder, a letter in her beak that she swiftly dropped. "have some water darling, and here a piece of bacon,"

With Hedwig taken care of, Téa turned her attention to the second owl, which turned out to be a Daily Prophet Owl. Considering her owned percentage of the paper she accepted the paper and the owl flew off not needing payment.

Unrolling it she swiftly opened it to the front page and was welcomed with the site of none other than herself, two pictures actually. One picture was of her during the Triwizard Tournament, dressed in the boys uniform which looked oversized upon her little frame. Her black hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was smiling nervously.

The next picture was clearly from the night before. How the Prophet had gotten a hold of it, she wasn't sure just like she wasn't sure of who had taken it. At least the second image was a good one unlike the first.

"They could have chosen a better picture," she remarked before beginning to read ignoring the snort of amusement Ron let out while Hermione simply rolled her eyes.

 _ **Girl Who Lived**_

 _ **Returns!**_

 _ **Last night, an announcement that shocked the entire of Hogwarts was made. Téaleon Potter returned, bringing with her shocking changes and unanswered questions.**_

 _ **As our readers can see the physical changes are evident. The most notable being the silver, white hair the fifteen-year-old Heiress is now sporting instead of her once Potter famous black hair. The second change was the shift from the boys uniform to the girls uniform revealing a body which had previously been hidden behind baggy clothes.**_

 _ **Téaleon chose to study abroad for the year, at least that is what we were told, her sudden return was unexpected to many yet it seemed the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was not very surprised at all. Where she studied is unknown and has not been made public knowledge, her return has raised some questions, though.**_

 _ **Had Téaleon really gone abroad for studies or was she seemingly evading custody when she was wanted for questioning in the case of Cedric Diggory which was deemed murder by the Minister? What of those charges that the Ministry wished to place on the young Potter Heiress, after all, she was wanted for questioning, she was the prime suspect and the only other person present when Mister Diggory died.**_

 _ **At the time her unofficial statement was that one of Voldemort's followers had killed the Hufflepuff champion, yet none had found evidence of that statement.**_

Here Téa stopped reading and turned the page. She would have to do something about the Daily Prophet. Now that she owned most of the shares she could finally get some actual things printed instead of the garbage it was printing now. How could her return be front page news?

Going through the rest of the paper, she was about to give up when a small article, barely big enough to cover a section of the paper caught her attention.

 _ **Attack on Muggle Town**_

 _ **Last night a small Muggle Town in the highlands of Scotland was attacked by Death Eaters and Werewolves. The small town had a population of two hundred people, sadly that numbed was dwindled down to 98.**_

 _ **Those who survived were only lucky enough because they fled into the surrounding forests before they were seen. Most of those were children, some younger than five years old. The reason for the attack on the small village is unknown but it is most probable that there was no reason at all, simply the small fact that they were muggles.**_

"Why isn't this front-page news," she snarled, anger showing through as she stared at the page before her catching her friend's attention? "Small muggle town attacked last night by Death Eaters and Werewolves. This should be front page news, not my bloody return."

"It's a muggle town Téa if no wizard or witch was injured during the attack, what makes it important," Hermione whispered sadly,

Hands shaking in surprised anger and want to burn the paper there and then she balled it up and tossed it to the side not wanting to lay her eyes upon it. Changes were most definitely going to be happening to the Daily Prophet.

Grabbing the envelope Hedwig had delivered her she opened it to find Professor McGonagall's lovely writing inside.

 _ **Miss Potter,**_

 _ **I wish to speak with you personally this evening. Please make your way to my office at Lunch so that we may have time to speak. I will have House Elves deliver food for us.**_

 _ **Professor M. McGonagall.**_

"What's that?"

"A lunch date with McGonagall." She answered simply before folding the letter and placing it into her bag. "We should go to class, I'm not really hungry anymore."

"Sound like a good idea," Ron agreed, before grabbing one last piece of bacon and rising to his feet.

Leaving Gryffindor Table, the trio didn't notice the smiling Head of Gryffindor at the head table nor other members of staff watching them.

"It's wonderful to see them back together," Pomona remarked warmly. "It took the longest time to get used to them not together,"

"I never seemed to have gotten used to it I'm afraid," Flitwick squeaked from his own chair. "I'm curious to know how well Miss Potter adjusts to classes. I am not sure what she learned at the start of the year."

"I've already dealt with that, we'll be meeting for lunch to discuss certain things. I'm sure you all have nothing to worry about." Minerva remarked before rising to her own feet. "Never the less I must confess, like Filius I never got used to seeing only two of those three together."

...

Arriving at the Potion classroom, the trio were surprised to find the door opened, inviting them inside. The moment they did they took seats and found that others had also arrived, a few Slytherins though no Gryffindors.

Slowly the classroom began to fill though until the bell rang and the door shut. At the front of the room, the door - probably leading into an office - opened and the large Potion Master entered smiling joyfully at them all.

"Ah welcome everybody!" Slughorn greeted, his large midsection jiggling a tiny bit. "Before we start, I'll be dividing you all into teams. Now I went ahead and did this before class started, take in mind that the partner you'll be getting will be your partner for the rest of the year and no amount of winning will get you out of it nor will going to your Heads of House. I taught them both during my days before retirement." He remarked making many look at their current seating mate with worried looks.

"Why don't you all rise and move over to the right, that's it. Now then let's see Table one, which is right here," he remarked while pointing to the table nearest to him on the right. "This table will go with Theodore Nott and Téaleon Potter."

This caused both named students to raise eyebrows yet they didn't move to protest simply gathered their items and moved to their table.

"Team two will be Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini, I've been told to keep on eye on you Mister Longbottom, you melt a few cauldrons but nothing to worry about I'm sure we'll be able to get you brewing in no time. I was nervous myself when I first started." Slughorn remarked while giving Neville a smile as the boy sat down beside the dark skinned Slytherin.

"Team Three will be behind team one, that will be Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass." Seemingly relieved with their chosen partners both girls took their seats at the table.

"Team Four, Ronald Weasley and Tracey Davis, team five Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, team six, Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas. Team Seven, Seamus Finnigan and Andrew Anhurse. Team eight Draco Malfoy and Vincent Crabbe, team nine, Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Goyle,"

The last teams made a few smile yet the team members themselves rather unhappy yet they grudgingly took their seats at the back of the classroom.

"Now then, this is good but today we won't be doing any brewing. Today we'll be discussing poison's, toxins, venoms and their antidotes." The man declared joyfully making Téa brighten. If there was one thing she knew it was poisons, toxins, venoms and their antidotes, thanks to Professor Hufflepuff.

"Now who can name me either a venom, a toxin of a poison," Slughorn asked before pointing to Hermione.

"Aconite,"

"Indeed, also known as wolfsbane and monkshood. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The Poison is an alkaloid called aconitine." Slughorn remarked before writing the word onto the checkboard. "Aconitine disables nerves, lowers blood pressure and can stop the heart. Another Miss Greengrass."

"White Snakeroot, or Ageratina altissima."

"Indeed, again a plant which all parts are poisonous and cause nausea and vomiting. Mister Zabini?"

"Streeler venom," he answered casually making the teacher's smile grow.

"Yes! the venom of the Streeler is so venomous that it shrivels and burns all vegetation over which it passes. Its one of the only venoms that can kill a Horklump. Miss Potter?"

"Basilisk venom," she remarked casually earning a chuckle from the man.

"Ancient, my dear, very ancient, Basilisk's are a very poisonous snake but one hasn't been seen in over four hundred years." He remarked making Téa chuckle yet that made the Professor frown.

"Something you would like to share?"

"Well, the true statement sir is that a 'recorded' sighting hasn't been made in four hundred years. In actuality, seven people have seen a Basilisk in last five years and haven't reported it."

"Where do you get this information Miss Potter because I can assure you nobody has seen a Basilisk's and lives to tell the tale. Their site is deadly to all who look into it."

"But when you only look into them because of a reflection it turns to petrification." She countered making the students frown.

It took a bit of time but they finally started to understand what was being said. Beside her, Nott swore softly and she forced herself not to chuckle.

"Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor saw the Basilisk through the lens of his camera, he was petrified because he didn't look into the eyes directly. Nearly Headless Nick - well he saw it directly but he's dead so he couldn't die again. Justin Finch-Fletchley saw the Basilisk through Nick, who is transparent. My friend, Hermione Granger saw the Basilisk from the reflection of a mirror just like an older student, Penelope Clearwater." She explained causing the students to grow paler and paler while Hermione shook her head.

"None of the victims remember what they say really, although Myrtle did say that she remembered big yellow eyes staring at her."

The mention of the female ghost had a mixed reaction, something Téa swiftly noticed. While the students all winced at the mention of the crying ghost, Slughorn seemed to pale. That in its own right was interesting. Yes, the girl had been one of Slughorns students but that was not a teacher remembering his student's death, that was the reaction of somebody who had something to hid.

"What about the last person?" Blaise asked curiosity peaked yet this time Téa didn't answer, Ron did.

"Téa say it,"

"The only reason I didn't die is because its eyes were destroyed by a good friend." She remarked casually. "The fact remains that there was a Basilisk in Britten for the last four hundred years, just hidden away in the Chamber of Secrets. Nothing to worry about now, though, its corpse is the only thing that remains."

"It died? How long was it down there?" Lavender whispered fearfully.

"Considering it was the Monster of Hogwarts, placed there by Slytherin himself when he was still at Hogwarts, the Basilisk was here a long time and it didn't die, it was killed," Téa answered before turning to the Professor. "Should we maybe continue with the list of venoms, poisons and toxins, there are a lot after all,"

"I - yes, indeed."

Sunk, thought Téa as she stared at the heavyset man. Slughorn was interested in the Basilisk. It wouldn't take long for him to figure out that Téa and Ron were the only two who knew how to access it while Téa was the only one that could access it. He would want to know how much could be salvaged from the Monster and although Téa wasn't certain how much could be salvaged it was close to the top of her to-do list.

…

Five minutes into lunch found Téa arriving at Professor McGonagall's office. She was a bit curious and nervous about what the woman wanted to speak to her about. She had seen the woman on several occasions while at Grimmauld Place after she had awoken yet it seemed like the Head of Gryffindor wanted to talk a bit more.

Knocking softly she waited until the door opened to reveal the strict yet fair Gryffindor Head of House. Upon seeing her a small smile formed on the woman's lips and she motioned her inside.

Slipping through the doorway, Téa tried not to show her nervousness yet couldn't help but look around. The office was just as she expected it. It was rather large and very comfortable. It reminded Téa greatly of Gryffindor common room with its warm reds, leathers, and tartans. There was a wall of pictures on one side of the room, showing old students who had passed through Hogwarts or even current students thanks to Quidditch team photos.

"Come and sit Téa, I think we have a few things to speak about." McGonagall declared before motioning her to sit down on the opposite leather sofa. "The House Elves just finished delivering us some lunch, so please eat."

Slowly sitting down, Téa placed her book bag beside her and gingerly took a plate and placed a few sandwiched on it. She also noticed that steaming cup beside her plate and had to smile. It looked like the House Elves remembered her lunchtime liking of warm chocolate chilli Tai tea. Placing her plate on her lap she gingerly picked the cup up and brought it to her lips. Sipping the warm liquid had her eyes closing and a soft hum leaving her lips.

"The House Elves insisted on bringing it for you, I suppose it's a usual item for you." Her Transfiguration Professor remarked making Téa smile.

"I have it every day at lunch. The House-elves were kind enough to do it for me." She answered before setting her cup down and taking a bite of her sandwich. "So Professor, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

"To begin, the Headmaster thought it would be prudent to return this to you," the woman remarked before handing over a rolled up piece of parchment.

Accepting it, Téa looked down to find the Potter heir's seal upon its surface. Her will, Hermione and Ron must have given it to them when they learned she had been kissed. Of course, now it was out of date and would need to be redone, with everything she had learned and done it would need to happen soon.

"Thank you," she mumbled before slipping the parchment into her school bag.

"I was – taken aback with the knowledge that you had made one, I had not believed that you would have felt the need."

"We're at war Professor, the Monster leading the opposing side wants me dead, so I thought it prudent to actually prepare for a possible outcome of the future." She murmured before looking down and drawing a deep breath. "I was still the Heiress of the Noble and most Ancient House of Potter."

"Yes you were, now you are the Lady of the Noble and most Ancient House of Potter." McGonagall murmured softly making Téa smile before she took a bite of her sandwich. "You hold more responsibilities now than you have in the past."

"You're worried I'm taking too much on," she mumbled softly earning a nod of agreement from the woman. "I understand your worries Professor I do, I simply – it has been too long since my family has gone without proper representation. The Potters were once a proud family, I plan on making that happen once more. Yes, I have plenty of responsibilities now but – I can handle it."

"It would seem that the time away has made you wiser than you were in the past," McGonagall observed making Téa smile.

"I learned a lot of important lessons during my journey Professor. Lessons I will never forget and will use to the best of my abilities. Of course, you didn't simply ask me here to speak about my responsibilities, I know you have more to talk about." Téa conceded earning a shake of the head.

"I am worried about your performance in classes. You have missed a full half a year of studies with it being your O.W.L year. Your other teachers are not aware of the reason why and because of circumstance, cannot be made away. Still, I wish to aid you in any way I can. Is there anything I could do to help you?" Professor McGonagall offered, making Téa smile, warmed by the thought.

"Thank you, Professor, and although I do appreciate your offer, I don't think there is much you could do. I'll be doing my best to catch up and both Ron and Hermione have already offered to help. I'll be concentrating on my studies most of the free time, so I will be ready for my O.W.L's." The determination in her voice seemed to satisfy her Head of House as she gave a nod before sitting back.

"Very well then, know that my offer will continue to stand, but I will keep observing you. If I see you are overworking yourself Téaleon Potter you will find yourself in my office quicker than you could say, Snitch."

"Of course Professor, I'll make sure to relax once and a while." Téa laughed, pleased to know that the woman did actually care deeply for her students.

It was a half an hour later, that Téa left the office. Part of her felt more relaxed now, to know that somebody was actually asking her if she was adjusting well seemed - heart warming.

Looking at the time, she nodded to herself before heading off to her next generation. The conversation in the Potion classroom had given her a push to investigate the Chamber of Secrets and she wouldn't have a better time to do so than now. With very little homework and no classes to worry about.

With McGonagall's office being on the first floor and the Chambers entrance being on the second floor, Téa hurried through the halls, hoping to avoid any teacher that might want to stop and speak with her. Thankfully, she arrived at her location without running into any ghosts, staff or student.

Opening the door she looked around before slipping inside. "Hello Myrtle," she greeted and after a moment the figure of Myrtle Warren, the last and only known fatal victim of the Basilisk.

"Téaleon," the ghost greeted sounding surprised by her arrival. "Why are you here?"

"I've got something to do down there," Téa answered while motioning towards the sink making the girl float away.

"Oh, then you should be quick, I overheard some people talking about the chamber," Myrtle whispered before leaving.

Frowning Téa considered the possibility of one of the students or even staff joining her before shaking her head and walking over to the sink. Finding the correct one, she looked up at the door before hissing to the snake.

Just as it had done all those years ago the sink moved away before sinking down revealing the long pipe that led down into the secondary chamber.

"There has to be a way to get down there easily," she mumbled yet as she tried to whisper words to coax anything else out nothing worked leaving her with little choice. "At least you'll close when I go down,"

Sitting down on the edge, she allowed her legs to danger over the ledge before taking a deep breath and slipping completely down. The moment her grip left the ledge, she zoomed down allowing the entrance to seal itself once more and just in time as the door to the bathroom opened to reveal Albus Dumbledore and Horace Slughorn.

 **Author note:**

 **Wow, this chapter took so long to write! I was welcomed with a case of heavy writer's block not to mention writing for the Case of Abuse and designing a house. Damn, I had a lot of things going on.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully chapters will keep coming to my brain! lol just trust in me as this story will never be left unfinished!**


	30. Chapter thirty

**Author note and warning:**

I do not know whats wrong with some people. As a guest, you have the privilege to review my stories a privilege I am - sadly for some because I do have very nice guests reviewers - getting really close to disabling once again. If you have something nasty to say say it where a person can actually talk back to you but of course those who flame without accounts to be told off are cowards. For now those reviews will be simply deleted and I will continue to do this unless it gets too far. I have explained myself in past stories but I will stand by all my stories because trust me you would not be reading it if I did not really like it. Warning: This chapter goes into detail about carving up a creature, to those who do not wish to read that type of thing you might wish to smooth over that section.

 _ **Chapter Thirty**_

 _ **Bubbles, trouble and gossip!**_

…

* * *

…

Arriving at the bottom of the pipe, Téa took a moment to look around. Nothing had changed, her surrounders were still covered in small rodent bones that crunched under her feet as she rose up. Wrinkling her nose she shook her head before grabbing her wand and waving it about. Within minutes the bones were vanished revealing perfectly smooth dark stone floors.

Walking over to the cave in site she looked at it for a moment before taking a deep breath and beginning the strenuous test of restructuring the ceiling so that she could remove the rubble. It took time but with concentration, she was able to form several arched pillars that held the ceiling up. The rubble - now almost completely cleared - was vanished and she finally regained the perfect view of the chamber.

"This is amazing," she whispered finally seeing the pre-chamber as it once had been, without the bones. "Slytherin knew how to make a first impression,"

Un-intentionally the words were hissed allowing Attor to understand her and finally make an appearance.

"Well, of course, Mistress, he might not have intended for others to see this chamber very often but the few times they would they must be impressed," the serpent remarked before looking around. "He would have been very pleased with the added support arches, they are very regal."

"It prevents the ceiling from falling on my head, I would approve," Téa grumbled before walking over to the - thankfully - undamaged skin.

She had looked up some usage of the Basilisk skin while having access to the Black Family Library. Considering the last time, one had been seen plenty of potions using it were now unmakable because of it, not to mention items made with Basilisk skin were highly wanted and valuable.

"This skin is perfect for clothes," she murmured while running a hand over the tough texture. "They have to dry it anyway, now it's dry and can be used."

"What will you make with it mistress?" Attor questioned making her grin.

"I was thinking a pair of pants, maybe a jacket and boots, Basilisk skin is just as if not more spell proof then Dragon Skin." She remarked before pulling a small trunk from her pocket and putting it on the ground.

With a flick of her hand, the trunk grew to full size and the lid opened allowing her to begin cutting up the skin with a small dagger she carried with her. With a quick enlarging charm, the dagger was big enough to cut through the skin like butter.

It took her time but at long last, she had finished and packed away the skin into the trunk. Running the back of her hand over her forehead she whipped the sweat away before taking a deep breath and checking the time.

She still had quite a bit of time left and so made her way through the chamber towards the door that led to the main chamber. Opening it she stepped through and was instantly met with the site of the large monstrous creature she had slain only a few short years ago. In that time nature would have had an effect on it. Téa expected the decay to have prevailed yet the corpse remained unchanged, as though it had only just been slain hours before.

"Perhaps static wards had been put in place," she murmured to herself before walking down the steps of the chamber.

Her steps echoed around her as she walked. Arriving by the creature's side she couldn't help but still feel dwarfed by this monster. The fact that she had killed it when she had been twelve was even more of a shock to her system now than it had been then.

"It's huge," she whispered, eyes roaming over the creature's body before landing on its destroyed eyes. Slowly she looked towards its mouth, wide open revealing the blood and the wound she had inflicted killing the creature. "How the hell did I kill it?"

"Clearly by inflicting a wound of some sort to its mouth Mistress," Attor hissed before sniffing at the air. "It has been a long time since I was last here, it smells different."

"It would, others have been down here before me," she remarked before stepping back from the beast. "Damn I do not even know where to start with this, I mean how do you harvest a Basilisk?"

"You must first remove its venom Mistress that is very valuable yet also dangerous. Then, you remove its skin, finally, you harvest its bones for other uses." Attor explained as though it was as easy as putting two and two together to make four.

"Right, we will how do I remove the venom?" she asked the snake while once more removing the trunk from her pocket and setting it down.

This time when it grew to its full size she opened it and removed a series of jars and carving instruments.

"There should be bags of venom it's in cheeks, to get at them you must remove them physically."

"Right which is why I brought Dragon Hide gloves with me just in case. Its a good thing this was the first thing on my list to do once I got to school or else I would be running back and forth from Gryffindor Tower to here every time I needed something." She grumbled while slipping the gloves on and taking a deep breath.

Keeping a tight hold of her racing heart she moved towards the giant mouth of the serpent and - with Attors aid cut through the mouth and began pulling fangs out. Before long there was a pile of the pointed bone fragments beside her while she was now working on the venom sacks hoping that they had not dried up or worst, burst open on her.

Slowly working, she finally detached one sack and slowly pulled it out. At long last, she gained her first view of the magnificent venom sack before her and she was shocked by how large it was. The sack itself was somewhat opaque yet you could see the liquid inside as it sloshed about.

Slowly she brought it to the container and using the only open tip of the sack poured the venom into the glass container and sealing it. Using the muggle labels she had bought she swiftly added one to the container and write venom on its surface. With that completed, she moved to the next sack and - now a bit more familiar with the process it took a bit less time and soon she had the second sack's contents in a second glass container.

Placing the sack skins in another container she sealed both and placed them in the trunk before moving to the Basilisk's skin.

Hours began to pass as Téa worked vigilantly. By the time she had finished it was an hour till Astronomy and she had completely missed supper.

Stretching her arms above her head she allowed her back to pop before bringing them back down and drawing a deep breath. That removed one item from her list, with the Basilisk out of the way she could finally begin cleaning the chamber and possibly using it for her own uses.

"Attor, I cannot picture Salazar Slytherin going up through a trap door like that, I mean how else would he have accessed the Chamber?" she asked earning an amused hiss from the snake - if snakes could give those types of hisses.

"There was a second entrance Mistress, it led to a secret staircase that led to a secret passageway." The snake remarked causing Téa's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Where is it?"

"The statue's mouth Mistress, it is not simply where the Basilisk rested, it also leads to multiple secret passageways implemented by Master Slytherin before his passing." Attor explained earning a broad grin from Téa.

"So, it's possible nobody knows about these passageways?" she asked curiously earning a look from the serpent. "Wonderful, let us go I need to get to Gryffindor Common room to gather my items and head to Astronomy, you are welcome to come if you so wish."

"Seems like a peaceful classroom, I will join you." The serpent agreed before Téa packed everything up and placed it off to the side, away from the water, so that nobody would find it while she was out of the dorm. The last thing she needed was somebody finding the Basilisk parts and freaking out on her.

Opening the cavernous space that the Basilisk had slid from the last time she had been down in the Chamber, Téa lit her wand tip before slipping through. It felt odd at first, entering the open mouth of Salazar Slytherin but soon her wand lit the inside and what she was met with two different tunnels to follow. One held the remains of dead mice and rats the other was cleaner. It did not take a genius to know what side lead to the secret passageways especially seeing as there was a gate blocking the way.

Walking over she opened them and passed through. Walking further in she soon found herself before a long spiralling staircase made of the same stone that Hogwarts was made of. Torches swiftly burst to life as she took the first step illuminating her path and allowing her to end her own spell with a soft Knox.

"Well, you have to admit, the man sure had style," she grunted before heading off.

...

"I wonder where Téa spent her day," Hermione remarked thoughtfully while walking with Ron towards Astronomy.

"Don't know, after that meeting with McGonagall I would have thought she would have returned to the common room but she didn't." Ron continued.

"I had things to do," came the soft voice that had both Gryffindors looking up to find their friend waiting for them a grin on her face. "Busy day today but rewarding."

"What you do?" Ron asked curiously while they continued to walk, this time with Téa in between them.

"Oh I had to take a crash course in science," she remarked neutrally earning a confused look from the redhead and a raised eyebrow from Hermione. "Dissecting a snake to be accurate."

"What!" Hermione exclaimed before quitting at the look Téa shot her. In an angry whisper, she continued. "You went into the Chamber of Secrets and didn't tell anybody!"

"Hermi -"

"There could be more dangerous things in there, maybe another Basilisk! What were you thinking going in there alone and without telling anybody!" The brunette continued furiously earning a roll of the eyes from Téa.

"I was thinking that hey I understand snakes, I would know if there was another snake in there plus Attor was at my side, anyway Hermione, I was too busy cutting down the thing and storing everything. The room had this very powerful preservation ward around it meaning the Basilisk didn't deteriorate. Anyway, I don't think it's a conversation we should be having at the moment." Téa concluded earning a stubborn glare from the brunette.

"Hermione just leave it; she's a big girl and can handle most situations sent her way." Ron tiredly sighed before they arrived at the Astronomy tower.

"Fine, I just don't think you should have gone down alone," Hermione remarked stubbornly.

"Fine next time you can tag along if you so wish." came the answer before Téa began walking up the steps to the tower landing.

Arriving they found most of the students already present and swiftly set up their telescope and star charts. Téa was swiftly handed one by their Astronomy Professor, Aurora Sinistra.

Professor Sinistra was a serious and strict woman who was tall with dark hair, eyes, and skin. She had prominent cheekbones and a sharp nose. Still, she gave Téa a gentle smile and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry dear, I will speak with you shortly." Professor Sinistra remarked before turning her full attention to the class. "Alright everybody tonight will be a perfect night to observe Jupiter's moons so please continue with your assignments."

With that, the class turned to work and she turned to Téa.

"Alright dear, you have missed the first part of the year but it will be alright. This year we are studying Jupiter's moons and write an essay containing facts on all of them. We have also begun filing out or star charts, I do not expect you to have it fully up to date but I have spoken with the Headmaster and your Head of House and they have both agreed that you may have another day every week to observe the stars. ." Professor Ministry explained earning a smile from Téa.

"Thank you, Professor, I do appreciate the offer and I will gladly take it."

"Good, would Friday be an option or possibly Tuesday as your morning has no classes." Professor Sinistra offered.

"What is more convenient for you, Professor? I don't want to burden your other classes." Téa hurried to say.

"I would prefer Tuesday nights, those are my first year Ravenclaw classes and they simply last for an hour, you could come in after their class to do the work or at the same time if you so wish."

"That sounds perfect to me Professor, Tuesday during your Ravenclaw Class." Téa agreed, receiving a warm smile from the woman.

It was an hour later, yawning, and tired that the class left the Astronomy tower. They didn't talk much as they walked to their common room and as they walked in the trio slumped into their usual chairs by the fireplace.

"Thank Morgana we only have one class tomorrow." Téa moaned catching her friend's attention.

"Thank Morgana, what happened to Thank Merlin, you know the one that wasn't a Dark Lady?" Ron asked curiously and although Téa wanted to defend the woman she had to keep her mouth somewhat shut.

"Really Ron, no offence but how do we even know she was a Dark Lady. We don't have that many records from that age." She remarked earning a frown from both her friends.

"Its History Téa -" "History has been wrong before but I am exhausted, I think I'm going to go take a bath - if the other girls haven't taken control of it -"

Yet before she could speak she was ambushed by Alicia, Katie, Angelina, and Ginny.

"We are going to the Gryffindor Changing rooms," they hurried to say causing the silver-haired teen's eyes to light up. "You are coming, mandatory, and don't give us any bullshit about not being a team member," Angelina growled while lifting her to her feet.

"But it's past curfew -" Hermione moved to say yet a look from the team had her reluctantly shutting her mouth.

"Important meeting, only girls needed. Let's go," Katie jumped in before a bag was pushed into Téa's arms while her own book bag was passed to Hermione.

"Ginny got you some stuff to change into, now let's go. We can't waste time, we need to get out of the school and to the field in less than fifteen minutes." Alicia chuckled before the group was out of the common room leaving both Ron and Hermione alone once more.

Racing through the halls, Téa felt as though she was back on the Quidditch Team. When she had first joined this had been a weekly adventure for the four female Gryffindor's. Fred and George would map out a safe route for the four and they would head off to Gryffindor Changing rooms in the quidditch pitch. The reason for that - a wonderful magical hot tub that had been donated to the teams changing room by an old Gryffindor alumni. One had gone in the Girls the other in the boy's room.

None of the staff knew about it - to the team's knowledge as it had been a secret gift so that the other teams wouldn't get jealous or riot. It was normal for them to go to the changing rooms at night after a tiresome day or simply lounge in them after games and practices.

Thankfully the group made it out of the castle without being caught and swiftly ran across the fields until they arrived at the Quidditch Stadium. Rather, breathless they hurried into their changing room and the moment the door shut behind them began giggling.

"I've not done that in ages," Téa laughed earning grins from the other girls.

"You look like you needed a soak in the tub anyway, plus we have to talk about Quidditch. Overheard you saying that Ginny was staying on as Seeker." Angelina remarked before dumping her own bag on a bench and beginning to undress. "Not that I mind that is considering how brilliant Ginny is."

"Angie I have too much to catch up on here, I can't rejoin the team plus it wouldn't be fair to Ginny who has worked hard to be in that position." Téa sighed while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ginny told us that and we so understand I mean you missed half a year of school during one of the most important years of your schooling. Now, hurry, and get your clothes off." Katie ordered before slipping into the hot tub a sigh of bliss leaving her lips.

Shaking her head she swiftly shimmied out of her uniform before padding over and slipping into the hot tub with the older girl. Before long the others had joined.

"Holly crap Téa what the hell did you do to yourself!" Alicia exclaimed while picking up her hand and bringing it to her eyes. "Tattoos!"

That made Téa wince, the runes she had gained during her trial had appeared on her real body. Thankfully nobody - till now - had noticed the runes.

"What tattoos?" Ginny asked curiously before noticing just what Alicia had noticed. "You are so lucky mum didn't notice those. Bloody hell Téa when did you get them?"

"During my time away," she hurriedly answered while pulling her hand away and looking at her palm. "It was - a shocking event that led to me having these on me. They are not really tattoos more like runes." She continued yet did not go further into details.

Thankfully the girls got the hint and didn't mention the markings again.

"So, Quidditch, will you remain on as a reserve for the year?" Angelina asked making the fifth year smile.

"Of course, I will be the reserve, I wouldn't leave you hanging unless something happened that prevented me."

"Oh, wonderful so darling, what did happen to you while you were gone? I mean did you really study abroad for half the year." Katie asked causing Téa to laugh while Ginny shocks her head.

"You girls didn't have to drag me all the way out here to ask me that," she laughed.

"Well, we wanted to have a nice soak in the hot tub anyway plus you looked like you needed a soak anyway. So, where did you go?" Alicia responded showing that she wouldn't be pushed away from the topic.

"I was studying with some privet tutors," she answered hesitantly yet the wide-eyed looks she got had her drawing a deep breath before continuing. "They weren't teaching me standard things, the reason I'm a bit behind here at Hogwarts but other things that I needed to learn."

"Is that where you met Attor?" Angelina asked curiously showing that news of Attor being in Gryffindor Common room had spread.

"Yes, Attor became my very close companion while there. No plan had been made for her to come with me until it just happened. She's a loyal friend and has been with me for what feels like forever."

* * *

 **Author note #2:**

So, not a really big chapter (sorry) but it did cover quite a few things that needed to be covered such as the Basilisk and the Quidditch team. Also encompassed Téa's first day back in normal classes. Next, up are more classes and more to do things but we will see what else will happen so keep reading to find out more.


	31. Chapter thirty-one

_**Chapter Thirty-one**_

 _ **Secret partners and flaming fun**_

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

Friday's was a beautiful day for Téa as she arrived in the kitchens after her morning workout. Her hair was still wet from her shower and all pulled into a bone on the top of her head.

She only had one class today, DADA with Lupin, which gave her plenty of time to do what she needed. Her workout had been the first part of her day and now breakfast before she headed towards the library to begin her research for Neville's potion.

The last time the potion had been used had been decades ago and it must not have been needed often considering she could find nothing about it. The potion was also rather complex to brew and had a long list of ingredients. The potion would take her months to complete and if she failed, it would mean doing it all over. Her previous thoughts about possibly testing in the Room of Requirements was rather useless considering the length of the Tantalizing and so she would have to brew in the Chamber of Secrets if she wanted to get it done without people knowing.

"Mistress Téa!" Came a happy exclamation that pulled her from her thoughts and forced her to look down.

Instantly she spotted the happy little House-elf known as Dobby who was staring up at her with big eyes and an equally big smile.

"Hi Dobby, how are you doing today?" She asked curiously and glad to see the little elf doing so well.  
"Dobby be doing good Mistress Téa, he is happy to see Mistress Téa again as well. What can Dobby do for Mistress Téa?" Dobby asked curiously making the witch smile.  
"I just need some breakfast, is all Dobby," she answered earning a nod from the little elf. "Anything is fine, I've just finished working out is all, but I would like some coffee as well,"  
"Right away Mistress Téa!" Dobby agreed and hurried off to do what he wanted.

Walking over to one of the tables, Téa settled down yet her eyes swiftly found the sad looking Winky - who although was working - looking rather sad.

"Winky?" She called softly catching the elf's attention as she made her way towards her.  
"What might Winky do for Mistress?" the little elf asked, softly, voice void of any happiness.  
"Winky can I ask you a question, nothing about the past, I just, - I would like to know if you would be willing to tie yourself to a family again?" She offered, earning a look from the little elf, a bit of hope in her eyes that made Téas heart crack.

How could a little creature like this be so heartbroken? After what Crouch had done to her, he did not deserve her.

"Winky is bad elf, Winky does not deserve family to serve," the elf whispered hoarsely as though the words were rehearsed or repeated often.  
"Winky you're a good elf, you're not bad, listen I need a female elf myself you know. As the Head of the Potter family, I need somebody that can help me dress when I have big parties to go to or to take care of me when I get sick. I actually need two elves," she continued, noticing Dobby's arrival.

Instantly both elves stopped what they were doing, eyes widening even more - if possible.

"Dobby would you like to tie yourself to me, I would pay you as well I know you want that, the offer goes to you to Winky but you do not have to take it if you do not want it." She offered and although Winky's face scrunched up at the word pay, she relaxed visibly when it was made clear that it would not be forced.  
"You wouls take Winky even though Winky has been bad elf?" She asked making Téa smile.  
"Winky in my eyes, you're a very good elf, I will not ask you anything about your past if you do not want me to, but you will have to follow certain rules when you come into my family. This goes to you to Dobby."  
"What rules Mistress Téa?" Winky asked hopefully.  
"First you must never - ever hurt yourself. If you have done something wrong, we will simply talk about it, I could never punish you physically, nor can you. Everybody makes mistakes, and we learn from those mistakes. Second, you would both have to wear proper uniforms; any sort of accessory you would want can be added. The uniform must have the Potter Family Crest attached to it and when I - well we will get to the other part later." she remarked earning hurried nods from both.  
"Dobby I would like to pay you two galleons a week and you will have one day off a week," she remarked yet was swiftly stopped by Dobby even as the plate of food was placed before her by another elf.

"Dobby not wants too much Mistress! One galleon, one day off only," he argued yet Téa shook her head.

"You will take two galleons and one day off every two weeks and I expect improvement in your knitting," she argued a twinkle in her eyes that had the little elf's eyes growing wide. "I like getting socks for Christmas Dobby especially homemade ones."

That made the elf blush and he hurried to accept, both elves did, and as they bound themselves to Téa she felt content in her choice.

"Winky and Dobby will go get proper uniforms," Winky declared before grabbing Dobby's hand and disappearing with a snap of her fingers.

Shaking her head in amusement, Téa turned to her coffee and breakfast, a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, strawberries, bacon, maple syrup, and a small bit of whipped cream. The coffee was on another tray, some sugar, cream, and milk beside it in little gold dishes.

Tasting the coffee, she hummed in approval before adding a bit of cream and a bit of sugar. She would have to ask Dobby where he had gotten the coffee because it was delicious.

...

"There you are!" Hermione cried, having spotted her friend. Stacks of books, parchment, surrounded the girl with ink bottles everywhere, all of which were open. She looked concentrated yet when she heard Hermione she looked up a look of surprise on her face. "I did not expect to find you in the library."  
"Oh sorry, I had things to do early this morning, I left you were still asleep," Téa answered while both her friends took seats at the table, curious to know what she was looking at only to find that it was potions and Herbology.  
"Why are you looking at these books?" Hermione asked while looking at one particular book, confused to see her friend reading it.  
"Research on a personal project t'is all," She answered honestly before turning a page in one book and reading a few lines before writing something down. "Why were you guys looking for me?"  
"Oh, we were just curious where you were. I guess we could finish our homework now." Ron grunted earning a proud smile from Hermione and a smirk of amusement from Téa.  
"You've changed the most Ron," she remarked amusement lacing her voice yet she did not notice the shared look from both her friends.

Yet neither said anything, even if they both disagreed. To them, Téa had changed the most of all of them. She, of course, had her reason to, having your soul sucked out and going through everything she had would change anybody but now - now their friend held more secrets than before and they were a bit sad to know she kept things from them.

"So, can we ask what this personal project is your working on?" Hermione tried to push hoping to get a bit about it.  
"It's a potion, one of my ancestors had invented it and - it's been lost. I wanted to use it again but some of the ingredients are rarer than you would think. I've never heard of Moonskin floss or Tantalising snow leaves." Téa answered a frown covering her face.  
"I've never heard of them either, perhaps Snape has, though. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't like the man but he is the youngest potion master our world has ever seen to date," Ron jumped in earning a raised eyebrow from Téa before she reluctantly nodded.  
"You're right, maybe I can ask him if he'll let me," she mumbled before drawing a sigh. "I'll go do that now, he doesn't have a class, and maybe he would be free to answer my question."

With that, she gathered a few of her books and the rest of her items before leaving the table.

"I didn't think she would leave right away," Ron complained earning a weak smile from his friend.  
"She's changed so much,"

Leaving the library, Téa slipped each book into her bag before heading off. Ron had had the right idea yet there was no way she could ever approach Severus Snape for any help. The man had been nothing but a cruel, bullying, bastard since the moment they meant. He chose to continue a vendetta between her father and the man over actually getting over his shit and acting like a proper teacher. Said vendetta was also continued on the House of Gryffindor even though all teachers should be treating the house equally.

If she went to him, he would laugh in her face, hand her a detention before probably taking the journal from her and claiming at his own. She wasn't going to allow any of that to happen, and really he had no right to the potion she was brewing. The man tortured the person she was trying to help every day in Potion Class. She wouldn't let him anywhere near the potion.

Still, this left the fact that she needed to know what those ingredients were if she were to complete her potion and yet there was more than just Sprout and Snape to go to. There was another Potion master on staff, Slughorn yet she didn't trust him enough not to go to Dumbledore and right now she was in no mood to deal with the Headmaster. Professor Sprout might actually be able to help her, yet the distance she had felt from the teacher last year gave her no incentive to speak with the woman. The one person she did trust and felt comfortable approaching on the subject wasn't even a teacher. No, she trusted him with any and all plants, fungi, and herbs. Neville Longbottom didn't just carry the title of best Herbology student in their year but in the higher ones as well. He was the best in the school and he would be the person she approached first.

Making her way to Gryffindor Tower, she entered and ignored those who chose to stare at her in favour of making her way up the boy's dorm steps. Arriving at the fifth year dorms, she gave a soft knock and waited.

It didn't take long for the door to open revealing the one person she had been looking for.

"Téa!" Exclaimed the Longbottom heir, a look of surprise on his face before he moved aside to allow her entrance into the room.

The moment she did she swiftly noticed the mess around her, well almost all around her. One section of the room was clean, as though somebody had just cleaned it. A plant on the side table showed that section belonged to Neville Longbottom.

"What can I help you with?" He asked curiously catching her attention.  
"I have a question for you actually would you mind helping me?" She asked curiously earning a relaxed smile from the boy.  
"Sure thing Téa, I can answer it as best I can," He agreed while sitting down on what Téa assumed was Seamus' bed, offering her his own to sit on. "Sorry for the mess,"  
"Don't worry Neville," she laughed amused by his apology. "It's a boy's dorm, and trust me us girls aren't any neater. Our dorm has more clothes thrown everywhere than most of the dorms out there and that's because of Lavender and Parvati."

This made Neville chuckle and shake his head. It was well known around Gryffindor that both those girls were the shopaholics and loved clothes and make-up.

"So, what's the question you wanted to ask me?"  
"Do you know anything about Moonskin Floss and Tantalizing Snow Leaves?" She finally asked earning a frown for a moment before the boy stood and moved to his bookshelf, the only one in the room.

For a moment, he looked through it before finally removing a thin yet very tall book and made his way back to the bed. Slowly he flipped through the pages before humming and looking up.

"Moonskin Floss is rare and hard to come by. It's not technically a plant but its - close enough that herbologists have it in some books. Anyway, its mainly used as a potion ingredient - when it's found." He remarked before looking once more at the book and reading a section. "The floss happens in deeply magical forests such as the Forbidden forest. It is created after rainfall; it forms like vines upon trees, very rare. The strands need to be gathered swiftly and placed in glass phials where they will return to liquid form yet retain their magical properties."  
"The Forbidden Forest you say?" she hummed thoughtfully earning a raised eyebrow from the boy.  
"If you're thinking of going in there you can't go alone."  
"You going to come with me then?" she asked, eyes sparkling as her smile grew. "So, how do I know its Moonskin?"  
"Oh let's see," looking again he read silently before giving a nod. "says here that you'll know its Moonskin because the liquid will glow and have a thicker consistency than water."  
"Alright, I guess I'm going into the Forbidden Forest soon, I'll have to keep an eye on things to learn when it snows." She mumbled thoughtfully earning a frown from the boy.

He didn't know why his friend needed this particular ingredient, clearly, she was making a special potion but he didn't know what type and really he was absolutely dreadful in potions.

"Neville, would you accompany me?" She finally asked making his eyes widen.  
"What - why?" he stuttered shocked, he might have changed a bit while she had been gone but he didn't think he was all that brave. "Because you're a plant expert, I need you help Neville, this potion I'm making it's really important, I mean really important and if I'm going to complete it I'll need help. I've not even told Ron and Hermione much about it but I would really like your help," she explained hoping the boy would accept.

She wouldn't be getting his hopes up if she didn't tell him what potion she was making but maybe - just maybe she could boost his self-esteem in potions by getting him to help her. It would also be a moment of pride when he learns that he would have been part of the reason his parents were cured.

"I would also like another set of hands in the potion brewing, you willing to help?" She asked making his eyes widen even more before he gapped at her.

"Téa - you seem to forget how horrible I am at potions, I blow everything up!" He exclaimed making her chuckle.  
"Neville you're just nervous. Snape made you nervous, don't you worry, you'll help me out and we'll make this potion better than you could ever imagine, please Neville I would really like your help," she begged and although he was hesitant the boy finally agreed, making her smile.  
"Wonderful, now do you know what the second ingredient is?"  
"Oh that one I know about,"

Flickering through the pages, he looked for a specific page before handing the book over to her.

"Tantalizing Snow Leaves con only be found during the winter and only after a fresh snow fall. Leaves of an Aractnea Versipie will turn white when the snow falls on them." He explained and as she looked down at the page; she found a picture of a very odd looking plant with spider-like leaves. "That's why its name is changed to Tantalizing Snow Leaves."

"Please tell me I can find these in the Forbidden Forest as well," she mumbled dryly, earning a chuckle from Neville.  
"No need, there are some plants in Greenhouse 13, Sprout gave me access to it this year, and those ones are specifically exposed to the weather outside thanks to a special inner room of the greenhouse. I can get them whenever it snows next," he answered, making her grin.  
"Brilliant,"  
"So, what potion are you making?" He asked curiously making her eyes twinkle.  
"Not what I'm making, but what we are making and that Neville is going to be a surprise, but just know that it could change lives and will change lives."

...

DADA came quick for Gryffindor's and as Téa entered, the classroom it wasn't long before she was caught the eye of their teacher. He was smiling broadly at her, clearly happy to have her back in his class.

Smiling back, she made her way over to the second row and gingerly settled down in a seat. It wasn't long before everybody else was seated and class began.

"Alright everyone, welcome back to your first DADA class of the new year! Today we will be discussing different types of fire spells, dark, and light, and ways to fight against them. Now, can anybody tell me a fire spell?" Remus asked and just like in every other class, Hermione's hand moved up.  
"Bluebell flames sir," she answered earning a humming nod.  
"Indeed, also known as Cold Fire or Blue Flames. It's a magical fire that is produced by a charm and flows from the caster's wand in a stream or a jet." He explained before producing a jar and casting the spell into it revealed bright blue flames that danced to their own tune inside the jar. "These flames are waterproof and radiate heat only to objects held directly above it. It can be touched, penetrated, and held without the flames burning the holder, though it is known to burn materials such as clothing and plants."

With a wave of his wand and a finite, the flames and jar vanished and he turned back to them.

"Another?"

Here Téa raised her hand, earning a smile and a nod from her teacher.

"Fiendfyre," she answered simply earning a raised eyebrow from the werewolf and some curious looks from those in the class.  
"Fiendfyre," Remus repeated, before moving to the blackboard and tapping it with his wand. "Not a spell to ever be cast lightly, it is extremely hard to control, could be very deadly to those who cannot control it and may do more damage than good. An exceptionally powerful fire, it cannot be extinguished by normal or enchanted water. When it is cast, the fire appears with a roaring, billowing noise and gives its victims only a split second's warning to escape, quickly consuming anything in the vicinity of its caster. The flames are large and can take the shape of fiery monsters and beasts."

Here Remus took a moment to consider his class before drawing a sigh.

"Sadly this fire was favoured by some of the Death Eaters during the first war, destroying villages and homes,"  
"Incendio," Lavander whispered, catching everybody's attention and pulling it from that particular subject.  
"Yes, yes very good Lavender, Incendio is a very low-level fire charm, it is one of the most favoured fire-spells for wizards and most commonly used to light fires in fireplaces and light candles. Now, something to take note, there is a creature that is born from the embers of the dying fires. It's called an Ashwinder." Here he tapped once more at the chock board and this time a picture appeared with some text. "It's thin, pale grey and has glowing red eyes. They rise from the embers and slither away leaving behind a trail of ash. They lay their eggs and within an hour will collapse to dust."  
"Their eggs are red and give off intense heat mistress," Attor hissed while making an appearance out of Téa's robe making some students tense while the Slytherin's looked at it as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. "They can cause fires in huts, burning much alive."  
"That's what happened in the past?" Téa asked curiously earning a nod from the serpent.  
"Indeed, this is the reason all the hearths in Hogwarts were warded by Rowena Ravenclaw to prevent the serpents from slithering out of the fires. The founders did not want those eggs to burn the castle." Attor explained causing Téa's eyes to grow wide before a soft cough from Remus pulled her attention from the serpent to the classroom.  
"Care to translate?" he asked amused.  
"Oh well you see Professor, Attor was just saying that the eggs are red and give off intense heat. They can cause fires to erupt in homes, burning them down. Apparently, there are wards on all the fireplaces in the castle, preventing the serpents from leaving them so that they don't burn the castle down." She answered, leaving out some details.  
"Indeed, there are, Hogwarts has - of course - held an experience with an Ashwinder. It was used during a celebration at Hogwarts while Headmaster Armando Dippet was Headmaster. One was enlarged and when it exploded in a shower of hot sparks and dust, much of the Great Hall was damaged by flames and many students were sent to the hospital wing."

This made some snicker, an image of a giant serpent exploding in the Great Hall rather amusing to them all.

"Grandfather told me Professor Kettlburn was placed, yet again, on probation because of it."  
"Professor, what do we do if we're ever faced with Fiendfyre?" A Slytherin, Tracey Davis asked causing the amusement to leave the classroom.  
"Fiendfyre is very dangerous Miss Davis that is why it is never recommended you use it unless you can be certain to hold a firm grasp on it. Getting rid of it means using its counter-curse if you are not the one to have cast the spell. The incantation is Maledictus ignis licentiam, which roughly translates to Curse Fire leave."  
"What if you're the caster?"  
"It takes extreme concentration to use Fiendfyre but it also takes extreme concentration to reign it back in, many cannot do so safely. Now, why don't have a bit of fun, as long as you do not cast it at each other, we shall learn the Bluebell Flame Charm,"

This earned some cheers from the group of students and it wasn't long before Téa had a jar of her own flames that Attor gratefully wrapped around.

"You silly snake," she whispered in amusement while running a finger over the serpents head earning a content hiss from it.  
"Téa," Remus spoke as he arrived at her side forcing her attention from Attor and towards him. "Could you stay after class, I would like to speak to you about Saturday,"  
"Of course Professor," she agreed yet inside she was kicking herself for forgetting about the damn School wide Patronus lessons.

Thankfully, their classes wasn't a very long one and with such a fun teacher it went faster. So, as students piled out of class with points assigned Téa remained behind, Attor slithering around her wrist.

"So, Professor what did you want to talk about," She asked while sitting on one of the desks.  
"First, when not in class I told you to call me Remus or Moony," Remus ordered, a mischievous look in his eyes that hadn't been there in her third year.  
"Well, what you expect with me calling you Professor all class," she teased earning a chuckle before he sat on his own desk.  
"Do you know how nice it is to have you back in my class? It broke my heart every time I saw Ron and Hermione yet I didn't see you." He remarked making her smile softened before she moved to sit on his desk and rested her head on his shoulder.  
"I missed you all as well Moony, it was hard being apart from all of you. It's good to be back," She agreed.  
"Yet I can't help but notice some changes, you've distanced yourself somewhat from both your friends," he remarked making her frown and pull away to look at him confused. "Téa we love you, we notice these things. You've changed, the way you hold yourself, the way you talk, waking up early but not eating breakfast."  
"I do eat breakfast, it's an important meal of the day. I simply do not eat it in the Great Hall. I get enough stares and looks from people during the day at least in the morning I can eat and drink my coffee in the peace of the kitchens," she grumbled earning a raised eyebrow from Remus yet he didn't continue on the subject.  
"Coffee, you're most definitely your godfather's god daughter." he joked making her grin.  
"You wanted to talk about Saturday?" She remarked trying to veer off the subject of her.  
"Yes but just know, your experience has changed you but it doesn't mean you should be aloof and distant okay. We are all here for you Téa, we want to help you in any way we can. Don't hide from us or push us away." Remus whispered while brushing a strand of her silver white hair from her eyes. "Now, Saturday, it's going to be our first Patronus lesson and there will be more than the usual amount of students per class. Perhaps we could separate the area in two, yet that still leaves quite a few students who need to be taught."  
"What about we begin by showing them our patronus, we can explain the important stuff about the Patronus. To perform a spell properly you need to understand it. If you don't understand it properly you might not receive the desired results." she remarked earning a nod from Remus.  
"I agree would you like to explain it or shall I?" He asked curiously causing her eyes to widen before looking out the window.  
" I can explain it, you show it." she remarked not wanting to say what she was thinking still it seemed like the man knew her far better than she would have thought.  
"Téa, have you performed the spell since your return?" he asked carefully, swiftly noticing her tensed shoulders and her guarded expression.  
"Would you like to try it now?" he asked yet she shook her head.  
"I'll be fine,"

* * *

 **Author note:**

Wow! Its been to long but I wanted to post this on Christmas I just - didn't have it done then the hollidays got in the way. So I chose to update tonight and I'm glad I did! Hope you guys enjoy it!

Everybody have a safe and happy New Years! I hope you all get blessed with a wonderful year! May you all be safe, sound and happy.

Happy New Years!


	32. Chapter Thirty-two

**_Chapter thirty-two_**

 ** _little one want to play_**

 _ **...**_

* * *

 _ **...**_

Breakfast came and went for the students of Hogwarts on the first Saturday returned from holidays. Today would be their first Patronus class and many were curious to see what they would be doing. Many were sceptical that they could learn anything from a fifth year little alone the Patronus charm considering its complexity while others were nervous for the young fifth year.

As breakfast began to wind down many noticed that Téaleon had yet to arrive in the Great Hall. Some staff members looked towards each other in concern. Noticing this Dumbledore rose to his feet and addressed the hall.

"Today will be the first Patronus lesson taught by Professor Lupin and Miss Téaleon Potter." He declared, and with those words Téa walked through the open doors, making everybody turn to her. Eyes twinkling as he gazed at the Gryffindor and continued. "You will respect Miss Potter as you would respect a Professor during these lessons. Now you will notice that others will be joining you. Some members of the Auror squad will be joining your lessons to learn the complicated Patronus Charm while others are here to simply give aid. Professor McGonagall, Mister Sirius Black and William Weasley will be joining us to aid you all."

The news brought many whispers to the hall while Téa moved off to the side, not approaching Gryffindor table as many expected her to. Others noticed her choice of attire. She wasn't dressed in the school uniform nor in robes. Instead, she was wearing black leather pants that had many looking at her long legs and a simple cotton long sleeve green blouse.

"Now then students will leave the hall so that it may be prepared, you will return in twenty minutes." The Headmaster ordered and hurriedly students began to leave.

Approaching the staff table, Téa was approached by Remus who looked her over, clearly unsure of her choice of attire.

"Are you ready for today?" He asked making her smile.

"I'm ready," She agreed even if she couldn't stop the small voice of doubt from filling her voice. Her stomach was a nest of fluttering butterflies and while, she had eaten breakfast in the kitchen the elves had to continuously force her to eat. Thankfully they were rather persuasive with their big eyes and pleading looks that tugged at one's heart strings.

"Good, remember you won't be alone to control the students and you do your best. I'm sure everything will go wonderfully." Remus assured her making her smile at him before she noticed the others approaching.

"I'm glad one of us thinks so," she chirped, turning she latched onto both her godparents who happily hugged her back. "I'm really happy to see you both,"

"We're happy to see you too," Amelia murmured before kissing her cheek and pulling away while Sirius made sure to hug her a bit tighter before letting go and giving her his signature grin that made her grin back. "Don't let my aurors intimidate you. They were a bit hesitant to learn from a student they will listen. If they don't they'll be facing me afterwards."

"How many aurors will be here?" She asked curiously.

"I have all five of my instructors here, they'll be learning the charm so that they can teach it to future and current cadets. I also have ten other aurors who will be helping to teach the current ones how to perform it. They're the aurors who seem to have an ability to teach others. If I could I'd have brought more but I couldn't spare more at the moment."

"I understand, the war is taking a lot out of the Department I would assume." Téa remarked earning a nod from the woman.

"Don't you worry about that, though, worry about teaching all these people how to perform this spell, I know you can so you have nothing to worry about." The woman remarked a tinge of pride in her voice that had Sirius chuckling and Remus smiling while Téa blushed out of modesty.

After a few more words, the three adults chose to leave her by herself for the time being which allowed Téa to turn her attention to the hall. The moment she did though she noticed just how massive the hall truly was. The tables had been removed, stacked to the sides to allow maximum space for the students and aurors. It simply reminded her of the one place she wanted to find more and more, Le Fay Castle.

Shaking the castle from her mind she concentrated on her upcoming teaching lesson. She would have been a little more nervous if it hadn't been for Luna the night before. The young Ravenclaw had helped her through her fear and brought out her ability again. Something she was grateful towards.

\- Memory -

The night was quiet as students, staff and paintings slept. Only prefects were patrolling the corridors as well as two members of staff. Yet in the Room of Requirements Téaleon Potter was very much awake and swiftly becoming more and more frustrated as the night wore on.

"Expecto Patrnoum!" cried the young teen, desperation clear in her voice and in her expression.

She had been in the room for the past two hours, attempts at her spell leading to countless cries of frustration and sadness. Attempting it again simply allowed her frustration to grow and with a final cry she flung her wand to the floor, the wood clattering onto the stone and echoing through the room even as she slumped down and covered her face. She tried to hold back her tears of frustration as her emotions ran through her system like hyperactive snitches fluttering in the air.

Why, why wasn't her patronus coming to her? Why couldn't she perform it like she had in the past? Had the kiss affected her ability to cast her patronus?

"Why won't you come?" She sobbed quietly.

"Maybe he feels that he can't protect you," came a soft voice snapping Téa from her soft sobs so that her attention was firmly on the young fourth year Ravenclaw she had chosen to call a friend.

"Luna, I - what are you doing out of bed?" She asked before wiping her eyes, trying to clear them of any evidence that she had been on the verge of tears.

"The Narsuts woke me telling me a friend needed my help." The blonde girl answered before shuffling over which showed that Luna had no slippers or socks on her feet.

"You're feet must be freezing Luna!" She cried before waving her hand towards the girl's feet wishing for slippers.

Thankfully her wandless magic was back on par again and warm, comfortable bunny slippers appeared on the teen's feet. For a moment, Luna simply stared down at her feet before a smile blossomed on her face and she looked up to meet Téa's eyes.

"Why thank you, these are very nice slippers." The thanks made Téa smile yet she hurried back to her feet and motioned for Luna to come and sit with her on the sofa.

"Why do you think the Narsuts thought you could help me?" She asked curiously.

"You're having trouble with your patronus," Luna answered simply before turning to look at a point on the wall. "Maybe, it feels like its failed you. When your soul was taken from your body you patronus was unable to guard you and save you. It might blame itself for your unfortunate journey through the soul realm."

"But it didn't fail me, Luna. It did what I wanted it to do, save James' life. Because of Prongs, James got to his home with his own soul intact." she remarked yet Luna shook her head.

"Your Patronus is your guardian Téa if it fails or thinks it has failed you then this might happen." Luna continued before turning her attention back to Téa. "Maybe you should tell it that it was not his fault. Assure him that he is a great protector,"

"So talk to him?" She asked earning a bright smile from the blonde.

Speaking to her patronus, as though it had its own thoughts, as though it could tell what she was thinking? Well, she had done stranger things.

"All right Moonbeam I'll try it," The smile only grew brighter at her impulsive choice of a nickname yet she said nothing else before rising to her feet and walking back to her wand. Picking up the phoenix wand she shook her shoulders before drawing a deep breath.

Prongs, she thought, if you can actually hear me right now I want to tell you that I do not blame you for the state I found myself in. You were not responsible for my soul being taken. I chose to make you protect an innocent little boy over me and I've lived with my actions to this day. Things turned out. In the end, didn't they? I'm back and I would very much like to have my most trusted protector by my side again. I'm going to need you after all. We need to teach a bunch of people how to protect themselves, how to gain their own patronus that will help them through everything just like you have helped me through so much. So please Prongs, please don't hide away, I need you.

Eyes opening she took a deep breath before relaxing her shoulders and raising her wand. Summing the happiest thoughts she could, she allowed them to fill her before repeating the spell she had been saying all night.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Before her very eyes, a gust of white mist left before slowly forming into a figure she swiftly recognised yet as Prongs looked at her, its eyes boring into her own she felt something shift and could do nothing as the magnificent shape of the stag bowed its head and began to change.

It took very little time for the stag to disappear and in its place, something completely different now stood. Its eyes gazing into her own as though trying its best to tell her that not all of her father had changed.

"How the hell do I explain you?" She mumbled weakly, eyes growing wide as they stared at the dog like creature.

"I find him rather handsome," Luna whispered, eyes staring at the patronus who turned its own attention to her.

\- End of memory -

Taking a deep breath she shut her eyes and allowed herself to feel her magic, bringing it so that it slowly filled her with its warmth. Unnoticed members of staff turned towards the feeling of strong magic. Many were curious, it wasn't very often they felt such a calming magical presence settle over them, most of them had only ever sensed it when Fawkes joined them.

"Where is that sensation coming from?" Amelia questioned, confusion evident in her voice and on her face. None spoke until Sirius looked to his goddaughter, eyes widening.

"Téa, it's coming from Téa,"

"That's not possible, I've never felt this from her before," Minerva remarked, eyes widening somewhat as they gazed at the teen.

"It is indeed Miss Potter," Dumbledore deduced, his eyes gazing at his young student who seemed to be vibrating with magic, "Quite an extraordinary achievement."

With that, he left leaving the adults in shock. Yet it wasn't long before the aura left and only moments later were the doors to the Great Hall opened allowing students and aurors to slip into the large makeshift classroom. While others who were there to help with the students took to the side, Remus joined Téa's side.

It didn't take long for students to look up at them, all very expectant of what was to come. One look at one another, Téa gave a nod before stepping forward.

"Good morning everyone, I understand that many of you are not all that thrilled about being in another classroom on a Saturday morning," she greeted earning grumbles of approval from some of the students. "That's why we're going to try to make this as fun as possible. This isn't a true class with lesson plans and notes. This is just - a time where you all will learn a valuable protective spell against Dementors. Today's class will be very simple."

Here she stepped back allowing Remus to begin speaking.

"You'll be learning the theory of the Patronus Charm, after that, we will begin by showing you a patronus in both its forms, an incorporeal patronus and a corporeal patronus." He explained earning some confused looks by what he said, as many only thought the patronus had one form.

"Some of you might be asking yourselves, what is a patronus?" Téa stepped in earning inquisitive looks from the students. "A patronus is like an Anti-Dementor - a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementors. A patronus is a positive force, the projection of the very things that the Dementors feed upon, hope, happiness and the desire to survive. These are all the feelings that a patronus will project yet unlike us, a patronus cannot feel despair, which means a Dementor cannot hurt it."

Here she took a slight pause and gratefully accepted the glass of water that had been placed on a table beside her after a sip she put it back down and continued.

"As Professor Lupin has revealed, a patronus has two forms, a non-corporeal form and a corporeal form. The first can appear as a thin wisp of silver that hovers like a mist. The second actually takes a form that is clear, a defined shape and is more than a vapour or smoke. Professor Lupin would you like to demonstrate?" She offered.

"Of course, this is the first," he announced before taking his wand and whispering the incantation.

Slowly, a jet of misty silver smoke began to escape the tip of the wand, forming a barrier before him. It stayed for a moment before Remus stopped the spell earning various expressions of amazement from the students.

"This can protect you from a Dementor but it isn't as strong as the second form." Téa continued to explain before Remus performed the full patronus. With a burst of light the wolf burst from Remus' wand causing some to scream before they realised that it couldn't hurt them.

"That is the form we are going to thrive to get you all to produce. It is far more powerful than the first type of patronus and can do a far better job of protecting you. Each Patronus is unique to the witch or wizard who conjures it. It is also very possible, in some cases, for a Patronus to change."

Here Téa hesitated before pulling her wand from her sleeve catching everybody's attention. Those who knew what patronus she had were frowning unsure what she was about to do.

"When I was thirteen I cast the Patronus for the first time and I learned that its form was that of a stag, until this summer it has always been a stag. This summer - certain events - has seen that my Patronus changed." She admitted and before anybody could ask her how she cast the spell.

"Expecto Patronus," with barely a whisper the tip of wand glowed white before a form burst from it, swirls of white fog twirling from it until it was completely formed.

Before everybody's eyes, the impressive patronus landed only feet from its caster, its glowing white a strong contrast compared to its true colours in real life, yet it was unmistakably the shape of a very large, very intimidating dog. Much larger than any normal dog, it bared its fangs at those nearby making many back away, frightened by it yet Téa could only shake her head in amusement.

Slowly the dog looked around the hall and after deducing no threat padded over to Téa who allowed her hand to rest on its head as though it was truly there.

"Alright!" She declared brightly, bringing many out of their observations. "Casting a Patronus, the vast majority of witches and wizards are unable to produce any form of a Patronus. Why may you ask? One must muster the happiest memory they can think of which is hard to do when faced with the Dementors who feed off those emotions. Yet don't simply allow the notion that only a happy memory can aid you in forming a patronus. Thoughts, confidence, happiness, dreams they all can fuel a Patronus as long as they invoke happiness inside of you. So today you need to bring all of those things and put them at the front of your mind."

"Now the incantation is very simple," Professor Lupin declared, a fond smile on his lips. "Expecto Patronum, there are no wand movements, you must feel the intent."

"Now we'll be walking around, helping all of you. Others are also around the hall to help you, Sirius Black, Professor McGonagall, even Madam Bones."

With the theory, part over students began practising. Moving from the platform they had stood on, both Remus and Téa separated, while Remus moved towards the Hufflepuff, Gryffindor side, Téa moved towards the Slytherin-Ravenclaw side.

The moment she arrived on the floor the was swarmed by Ravenclaws with hundreds of questions spewing from their mouths. They didn't seem to be intimidated by her patronus who trotted beside her and she couldn't help but smile and shake her head at just how many questions they had.

"Alright! The gist of it is you want more books about the Patronus Charm, I know there are some in the Library you can look up but really it's a charm that doesn't take much theory just practice. Thomson, come here." she ordered grabbing the seventh year boy who grudgingly walked over and stood at attention. "Have you come up with a happy thought or memory, something you think can sustain a patronus?"

"I think I have -" the boy hesitantly spoke making Téa smile grow.

"All right, why don't we give it a shot then, concentrate on your memory, let it consume you and when you have it let it out and cast the spell."

"You say it like it is the simplest thing in the world," one Ravenclaw whispered, making Téa smile.

"It can be the hardest thing to cast if one has so few happy memories to rely on yet even somebody who has had a beautiful life can find themselves unable to cast it."

"Expecto Patronum!" Tomson cried catching Téa's attention and a she turned a proud smile formed on her lips as a silver mist left the seventh year's wand.

"Good job Thomson! That's really good, keep at it and it will get stronger and stronger." She encouraged earning a smile from the boy.

"You guys just have to believe in yourselves," she chuckled. "Not everything can be found or needs to be found in a book. You can look to yourselves for help too,"

Moving on she continued to help here and there, her large dog of a patronus following behind her like a puppy. When she arrived in the Slytherin section, she swiftly noticed they seemed to have the most difficulty. Some were attempting to perform but nothing was happening. Others weren't even moving to try.

Frowning she watched, observing those attempting to perform the spell. One was Theodore Nott, who looked rather flustered that nothing was happening.

"I don't bloody well know how she does it? She makes it look effortless." He grunted catching her ear.

"It's anything but effortless Nott," she remarked catching the Slytherins attention, at least those who were attempting to cast the spell.

"How come I don't believe you," he grunted causing the white haired witch to chuckle.

"Because you didn't see my lessons. I can tell you what's wrong already, your emotions." She remarked causing the boy the bristle. "You hide them away. This spell is an emotion based spell. You need to allow those emotions to consume you, you hide them away. Most of you do and don't get me wrong. It is the way you were raised, which is understandable."

The way the group was watching her, she could tell they felt threatened yet that was the last thing she wanted.

"You need to let your emotions come through for this spell to work you hear me. Just wanting it isn't enough." She sighed while shaking her head. "I know most of you were taught Oclumency when you were young. It is one of the lessons every pureblooded child learns from their families because to them, their emotions are a weakness. Emotions are not weakness, they make you stronger."

"Emotions make us irrational." One Slytherin countered making her chuckle.

"Sometimes they do, but emotions can bring more to you than simply irrational thoughts." She told them before noticing how Nott was gazing at her calculatingly.

"You're patronus, it's not a normal dog is it," he remarked making her look at the large dog with amusement.

"No, no it's not, he is a grim." she answered simply, making some gasps while others looked very interested.

"Something very big must have changed for it to take a new shape, but it seems most loyal to you considering it has followed you since you summoned it." He remarked curiously.

"My patronus guardians are very protective." Was her simple answer while the grim settled down beside her looking at Nott as though expecting him to do something. "Will you try?" she asked and although his eyes moved to her own he gave a nod.

This made those around them fall silent, their attention purely on Nott who had shut his eyes to concentrate. It took more time than Téa was comfortable with but before anybody could move to do anything else the teen opened his eyes and raised his wand. With a deep breath, he spoke the incantation.

"Expecto Patronum!" His voice was a bit louder than normal but the emotion in it was clear to Téa who watched with great satisfaction as a long gathering of silvery mist streamed from the tip of the Nott heir's wand, forming a large dome of silver mist.

The smile that broke out on Notts face was wide and true, one that made him look very handsome, reckoned Téa as she hurried to clap for his achievement encouraging the others to do so as well.

As the mist vanished he turned to look at her, clearly proud of his achievement as his smile had yet to leave his face and his eyes seemed to have a gleam to them that hadn't been there before.

"I think Potter you can call me Theo if you want, somebody capable of teaching a Slytherin like you have, has that right," the boy remarked making her smile warmly.

"Only if you call me Téa, Potter sounds so cold,"

"It would be my honour to do so," the boy agreed while taking her hand and kissing the back of it making her eyes widen and a small, barely noticeable blush cover her cheeks.

"Something you should know Potter, Notts a flirt," Flora Carrow informed her a gleam in her eye and a smile on her lips. "You can call me Flora,"

"Téa, all of you, like I said Potter sounds so cold,"

...

"A bloody Grim!" Sirius shouted as he, Amelia and Remus arrived at the man's private quarters. "Her patronus is a bloody Grim!"

"I'm surprised you're not more flattered." Remus remarked earning a snort from the man.

"Well, sure yeah I am I mean its a bit bigger then Padfoot but that's not the point! I knew her - adventure as she likes to call it - has changed her, but I never thought her patronus would change from Prongs to a bloody Grim! Of course, the giant thing followed her like a giant puppy, did you see that. All through the Patronus lesson, it followed behind her like it was guarding her against danger at all times. It's only when she finally told it, it could go away that it vanished.

"Well, at least she was able to still perform the spell, Sirius. Be happy about that fact. My aurors seemed quite pleased as well. They said I should have her come to the Academy for a few days in the summer to teach all the new recruits and then the rest of the aurors." The woman laughed making Remus chuckle.

"She'd most likely agree to Amelia, and I was impressed, she taught marvelously. She's the one that helped most of the Slytherins perform the spell. I know many of them are hesitant to perform it, but some did so and were very successful for instance the Nott Heir. By the end of the lesson he had the most improvement out of all the other students."

"I also noticed how Téa seemed to get closer to the Slytherins, she helped them the most and most of them seemed to have taken a slight liking to her. I notice Nott's kiss of her hand." Amelia told them causing Sirius to spin, eyes wide.

"What! What kiss of the hand! My goddaughter is not going to start dating anybody! She's too young! Boys aren't right for her, they're all immature brats who don't deserve her!" He ranted causing both Amelia and Remus to roll their eyes.

"Sirius! I swear, if that girl wants to date a boy she can, she's old enough to make that choice in her life and really you had your first girlfriend when you were eleven." Amelia complained making the man groan.

"Exactly! I know what boys are like! They're immature little brats who think about nothing but their own pleasure!" He cried, clearly thinking about something they weren't. "She's my little princess!"

"Calm down Sirius! Holly cow, it's like you think she's just going to stop being your goddaughter if she gets a boyfriend, I can assure you that that won't happen. They're our children, be it goddaughters, nieces or daughters no matter what happens. She won't replace you Sirius and I'm very positive you won't have to worry about any wrongdoing when it comes to her. She's very capable of protecting herself against unwanted hands." Amelia reminded the man before grabbing his hand making him freeze and look down at her in shock. "You'll always be her godfather Sirius,"

* * *

 **Author note:**

Oh my god I can't believe how long it took me to write this chapter up! I'm really sorry it's just it's not been coming to me and I wanted it to be better than the first draft I had. Good news for you all, I got the job I was interviewed for a few months back, it's only a casual so it's not permanent but it's still a giant step into my future career path. Still, with good news comes bad news. To those who have a young puppy at home, beware of the little devils! They can be a nightmare and if you have a laptop be cautious with it. My dog has practically destroyed my laptop. First, she chewed the charger cord until it wasn't even repairable. Second, she jumped on it until the screen went so far backwards that it cracked a hinge and I'm thinking disconnected a cable because - although it turns on - the screen doesn't show a thing. So right now I'm without a laptop and that means all those beautiful stories I had started on it are not available to me. I'm lucky, though, I had started this chapter on the laptop but not in word. I've been using a little site known as Grammarly which also saves my documents. It saved my chapter and a few other stores I began such as The Case of Abuse! Thank Merlin we have a mac upstairs in the computer room so I can actually work on things.

So peace of advice, around a young dog don't leave your laptop unattended or where they can get to it! I've learned my lesson!

Anyway, I chose to post this tonight because I didn't want to wait till next week for it. So I do hope you enjoy it and have a nice reading!


	33. Chapter Thirty-three

_**Chapter Thirty-three**_

 ** _bobby_** ** _snobs_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

It was late in the evening when Neville was roughly shaken awake, startling him from his sleep to find Téa standing over him. Confused he took in the fact that she wasn't in pyjamas. Instead, she was dressed in leather pants, a long-sleeved purple sweater, knee-high boots and had a thick winter cloak around her shoulders. Her silver hair was also pulled into a high ponytail.

It didn't take long for the realization to hit his sleep-fogged brain, bringing more into awareness as he paled in slight fear. Tonight was the night. They were going to enter the forbidden forest at night of all nights. It was the only reason Téa would be waking him up dressed the way she was.

"You should dress warmly Nev and hurry, we won't have much time. " The silver-haired witch whispered before leaving him to dress.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to settle his nerves before he pushed the covers aside and got dressed into a warm pair of pants, a long-sleeved shirt with a sweater over it and then one of his warmer cloaks. Grabbing his wand he looked around at the three other slumbering boys to see neither had woken before leaving the room.

Arriving downstairs he found the common room bear with exception of Téa who stood by the portrait hole waiting for him. She gave him a smile as he walked towards her making him relax slightly.

"You've been in the forest at night? " He asked curiously before remembering the first year and blushing.

"I've been in the forest many times at night Neville, simply keep your guard up, wand in hand and remember that if we stick together we're better off. I'm hoping we don't have to go very deep into the forest to find what we're looking for. " She remarked before pulling a bulky piece of parchment from her pocket.

"What's that? " He asked curiously.

"One of the best tools for a prankster or a person who likes walking the halls at night. I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good. " She whispered while taping the wad of parchment with her wand.

To Neville's amazement ink began to appear on the parchment until the once bare surface was now covered in what looked to be a map. Swiftly Téa unfolded it and pointed to a section. With startling realization, Neville recognized Gryffindor Common Room and to his further shock there in the Common room where their names, attached to a set of little footsteps.

"What — how? "

"The Marauders Map, a family heirloom, it shows the entire castle and its inhabitants no matter where they are. " She explained before pointing to one section. "Snapes is doing his rounds in the dungeons. "

"Wow, that — is very useful. " He mumbled before Téa led him out of the portrait hall.

"It is. We're going to take the easiest route out of the castle. It's a secret passage that's rather useful to know in situations like these. " She remarked before taking the lead.

It took a bit of navigating and sneaking but as they arrived before a suit of armour. Neville gazed nervously about until Téa cleared her throat.

"The lion started it, " she remarked plainly earning a bow of the head from the suit of armour before he stepped aside, moving the tapestries behind him as he did which revealed a small door that Neville had never seen before. "Thank you, "

Opening the door, Téa entered first before Neville followed close behind. The part, of the castle they swiftly found themselves in, was a long narrow and short passageway that Neville had to hunch in so as not to hit his head on the ceiling above. There was no light inside the passage and felt quite small especially to Neville's, whose shoulders almost touched the walls on either side of him.

"I know it's tight but there is a reason for that. Use your wand for light but don't speak too loudly, these passageways lead through the entire castle, it's easy to get lost in but they are quite useful." She remarked before taking the lead.

Moving as quickly as they could, they walked down to very narrow staircases before finally arriving in a very cold area that appeared to be a dead end. Neville was about to ask how they were going to get out when Téa taped her wand against a series of stones much like in Diagon Alley yet the result was different. , and shifting aside, the bricks slowly shimmered before Téa grabbed Neville's hand and pulled him through the wall.

Instantly the frosty night air hit their cheeks, causing them to turn pink as Neville looked out onto the forest before them. Looking around with startled amazement he was shocked to find that they were at the base of the Astronomy Tower.

"That is, bloody brilliant, " he mumbled in shock earning a laugh from the silver-haired teen beside him.

"Isn't it, when I learned about this I thought that would be amazed as you. Come on, let's hurry into the forest and gather what we need. The rain won't last all night, I wager. " Téa remarked before heading off with confident strides that Neville hurried to follow.

"So, um — what's the plan when we get into the forest? " Neville asked nervously.

"Keep your eyes open for danger and the floss. I'll do the same and always keep your wand out. Try to stay as quiet as possible and don't loud noises to attract attention either.

"Not too loud, " he mumbled weakly before taking a deep breath and nodding.

"Don't worry so much Neville, enjoy the adventure, you'll be astonished by what we see I'm sure of it." She laughed before they finally entered the Forbidden Forest.

Slowly they progressed in, attention split between looking for the floss and looking for possible trouble. The deeper they got less snow they found until finally, Neville spotted what they were trying to find. Floss twinkled lightly in the tree branches catching his attention and causing him to tap Téa's shoulder to catch her attention.

Pointing towards the direction of the floss, she gave a nod before they moved towards their bounty. Arriving under the tree, Téa looked up a thoughtful look on her face before she drew a sigh.

"Looks like I am going to need to use some advanced magic as the tree can't be climbed. Neville you're going to have to keep a lookout and stay on guard, I am about to perform Human Transfiguration." She explained causing the boy's eyes to widen before he looked at her as though she had just gained a second head.

"Are you insane!" He exclaimed a little too loudly for either of their likings. "We don't cover Human Transfiguration until our seventh year, "

"I know that Neville, keep your head on and eyes open, " Téa ordered before pocketing her wand and relaxing.

Closing her eyes she thought about the Raven, pictured the wings, its sleek feathered body before slowly pushing her magic to do as she willed.

Feeling it come to life, she let it flow through her, slowly changing her body until she re-opened her eyes and found herself lower to the ground than before.

"Bloody hell, " came the muttered whisper that had her eyes shooting up towards Neville who was gapping down at her as though he had never seen a person transform into an animal before. She had done rather well if she had to think about it, her fastest transformation to date.

Ruffling her wings, she took a few tentative steps before batting them. With a grin, she jumped into the air and gave a delightful squawk as she flew. Working her wings, she moved towards the top of the tree and hovered above a branch before she changed back into her human form.

"That - I need to practice more, " She panted slightly before pushing her cloak aside revealing multiple little crystal vials. Taking a few out, she began to carefully fill them with the floss.

Once she had all her vials filled she looked down before standing on her branch. With a grin covering her lips, she jumped, free falling from the tree until she allowed her magic to surround her and soften her descent so that she landed softly.

"You-you're crazy, " Neville mumbled looking pale and weak yet Téa could only chuckle in soft delight.

"Let's go, Nev, we got everything we came for time to go back to our cozy beds and comfortable pillows. Saturday Meet me in the common room, we'll head where I have planned to make the potion, wear thick layers and potion appropriate clothing. You're going to learn a lot with me on Nevile so don't get too overwhelmed." she teased while grabbing his hand and paving the way out of the forest.

"Are you sure you need me for this potion Téa, I don't want to screw it up." He tried to protest again yet Téa shook her head.

"You're going to help me create this potion Neville because it's really important and you would want to have a part in this, just trust in me and everything will be okay." she declared before flicking her wrist causing her wand to return to her hand allowing her to raise it to her right, instantly spotting the large creature before her.

"What - whats that?" Neville whispered sounding terrified of the creature.

"It's a Thestral, nothing to be worried over Nev, they're harmless to us," she whispered before gingerly placing her hand on the creature's snout and rubbing it gently. "They are gentle creatures and can only be viewed by people who have seen and understood death."

"Oh, they are - um unique looking," Neville mumbled until the creature butted Téa's head before turning and looking back at them as though urging them to follow him. "Are we -"

"You can head back to the castle Neville, but I'll see what it wants with me." She answered interrupting the boy before he could ask his question.

"I'll come, we-we shouldn't separate, " He remarked choosing to mention that he wasn't sure if he could find his way out of the forest without Téa.

Following the Thestral, they walked for about a half an hour until they arrived in a clearing and saw what the Thestral had brought them to see. Curled against a tree was a tiny golden unicorn, it lay on the ground almost motionless and instantly Téa noticed that one of its legs had a deep gash.

"Its hurt, " She whispered before hurrying towards the small creature.

Gently bending down she looked closer at the wound before shaking her head. She had no idea how to help the tiny creature but she knew who could help him.

"Neville we're going to need to carry him to Hagrid's. He'll be able to help. The trouble is you won't be able to carry him and I lack a spell for a stretcher, so I'll have to carry him. You're going to need to stay on guard for Neville, " She urged, eyes moving from the poor creature to Neville who looked worried before he took a deep breath and nodded.

"I - I can do that, " He agreed, making her smile.

"Good, " She whispered before looking back at the small unicorn who was looking at her uncertainly. "I'm going to bring you to a friend who can help you little one. He'll fix you up as good as new. I just need to carry you, at least you're rather small so I should be able to do that without worry."

She made an effort to speak as gently as she could to the creature, rubbing her hand over its snout gently before turning her attention to Attor.

"You might want to move from my shoulders in Attor, " she hissed.

"But its so cold outside!" The Serpent complained before grumbling under its breath as it slithered from her robes, down her torso to wrap around her waist, hiding under her shirt.

"Baby, " she whispered in English before taking a deep breath and moving from in front of the unicorn to behind it.

Gingerly she bent down and as gently as she could she lift the creature onto her shoulders, long legs hanging from either shoulder as she was forced to look down. With a grunt, she pushed off the ground and struggled to her feet keeping a firm arm wrapped around the front legs while gently holding the un-injured leg in the back.

"Right, led the way, Neville," She urged and although hesitant Neville gave a nod and began to lead the way out of the forest.

It took them about an hour but at last, they arrived on the outskirts, only a few minutes from Hagrids and slowly walked over. Moving up the steps, Neville hurried to knock hoping the half-giant wasn't too angry that they were most likely waking him up.

Surprisingly enough the door opened to reveal a fully awake Hagrid who looked shocked to find them on his doorstep at such an hour but upon spotting the injured unicorn on Téa's shoulders ushered them inside.

"Galloping Hypogriffs Téa, Neville shocked me you did showing up on my doorstep. What you two doing out this late at night and where you find the poor fellow?" Hagrid questioned while setting out a blanket on his bed so that Téa could place the injured creature down.

"Sorry Hagrid didn't mean to wake you but the little guy needed your help. I - well we were out gathering a potion ingredient is all and tonight was the only chance we got in getting it." Téa explained knowing her friend wouldn't put them in any trouble. "You know I've been in the forest more times at night than some of the students here."

"You're right, doesn't mean I like it Téa, its dangerous time we live in right now and you both need to be looking after yourselves. You best keep here for the rest of the evening, wouldn't want a professor to find you're out and about with only a few hours before curfew ends." Hagrid offered making Téa smile and Neville relax considerably.

"Thanks, Hagrid, really appreciate it, I can summon us some cots Nev, " She offered while summoning her wand and muttering a quick spell.

With a flick two cots seamed to materialise from thin air, blankets, and pillows with it.

"I'll get us all a nice cup of tea, you both look chilled to the bone and at the same time, we can see about catching this little fellow up. Poor fella must have been attacked in the forest by something and wasn't fast enough to get away." Hagrid whispered while filling one of his kettles with water before placing it on the fire to heat.

It was a few minutes later that he turned when it began to whistle only to find both students curled under their summoned blankets, sound asleep, their boots were by the door and their cloaks on the hooks. Chuckling he shook his head before pulling the kettle off and setting up his own cup of tea before going back to the Unicorn.

…

Morning shined in through the window, casting a soft glow over the room and waking both Neville and Téa from their sleep. Rubbing their eyes both looked around themselves to find that they were in Hagrid's hut. Memories of the night before swiftly returned and Téa smiled before turning to the bed to find the baby unicorn curled on Hagrid's bed, no half-giant in sight but Fang curled at her feet looking at her with big brown eyes.

"You comfortable?" she asked the dog whose tail wagged lightly before he settled down. "You certainly kept my feet warm at least. " She chuckled before turning to Neville who smiled at her. "So, Do you regret coming with me into the forest?"

"No, " Neville answered quickly causing Téa to raise an eyebrow. "It was - fun, plus I got to see you do something, I don't think others know you're able to do."

"You're right, I learned a lot of different things when I was away that was one of them. Thank for coming Neville, and trust me when this is all done, you won't regret a moment." She declared before pushing the covers back and pulling her feet from under Fang. "Sorry Fang but the cot can't stay, you have to get off, "

The whine she got from the large dog had her rolling her eyes before she pushed him with her hip urging him off the bed before she used her wand to vanish it. Grabbing her boots, she hurried to get them on before looking up to see Neville attempting to vanish his own bed a frown on his face.

Walking over she grabbed his hand with her own before gingerly showing him the motion.

"You really need to flick, like that. Now, picture the coat vanishing, " She urged before pulling away and with a frown in place, Neville performed the motion before whispering the incantation causing the bed to disappear. "There you go Neville, see you can do better than you think, just believe in your abilities a bit more."

"I've been getting better but sometimes some spells just give me more trouble." He remarked making her smile.

"I get that to"

…

"Where the bloody hell were you all night, " Hermione hissed into her ear as she arrived at Gryffindor table making Téa look up from her book. "I woke up and you weren't there, you were lucky as well, McGonagall inspected our room last night I told her you always had your curtains closed and that I had seen you go to bed."

"Oh, Thanks, Hermione, and sorry I had to get a potion ingredient last night and it was the only chance I got." She answered causing her friend to frown.

"What potion ingredient and what potion are you working on?" Hermione asked her curiosity peaked.

"It's a special project is all, I'm hoping to get it done soon. I should have to sneak out at night for potion ingredients again Hermione and next time. I'll take extra precautions when I do encase McGonagall comes to inspect our room."

"That's not the point you know, you used to take us with you when you snuck out at night. You didn't even mention this." Hermione sighed before Ron settled into his own seat before her.

"Oh - sorry, I didn't think either of you wanted to come into the Forbidden Forest with me when it was raining. I didn't go alone though. Neville came with me. He was a big help and he'll be helping me with this potion, important." she explained before Attor made herself known as she slithered up her torso and onto her shoulders, peaking through her shirt as she looked around.

"I do not miss these winters Mistress, thankfully you are very zealous." the serpent remarked making her smile while others around them inched away from the serpent.

"I think you grew Attor, you were smaller before, " She remarked earning a huff from the snake.

"Of course I grew Mistress, I would not stay so small I would be unable to defend you if I did." the serpent remarked before dropping over her arm and eyed the slice of bacon on her plate. "Will you share Mistress?"

Sighing, Téa shook her head before grabbing a slice and handing it to the serpent who hurriedly cobbled it up.

"You should hunt the mice in the castle, " she hissed softly.

"I have already done so for your bed chambers, no mouse will enter and I do not wish to frighten the other students by entering the Common Room.

"Oh bloody hell, listen up Gryffindors! " She shouted while standing urging her fellow housemates to look at her.

"Who here is okay with Attor eating all the mice in the dorm? " She asked, "that aren't pets? " She added earning some raised eyebrows before everybody lifted their hands. "Wonderful thank you, "

Sitting back, she shot Ron a glare as he laughed before turning to her snake friend.

"You have permission to roam Gryffindor Tower, do not eat the pets, do not eat pet mice, you can tell the difference right? " She questioned uncertainly.

"Of course Mistress, I will not touch the pets of the other humans and will only chase castle mice. Thank you, Mistress. "

"Miss Potter, " came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall making the teen look up startled to find her Head of House standing behind her.

"Um Professor, you're okay with her roaming right? She won't leave the tower without me, " she began earning an amused smile from the professor.

"If it means removing mice from the tower I will allow it. I trust you Miss Potter but that is not what I have come to speak with you about. The Headmaster wishes to speak with you in his office this morning. The password is Jelly Beans," the stern witch declared causing Téa's eyebrows to rise while her two best friends looked confused.

"But Professor, Téa has already missed so many classes. " Hermione went to object but Téa shook her head.

"It's okay Hermione, thank you, Professor, I"ll head over now." she declared while placing her napkin on the table and rising to her feet. "Have a nice class, "

"Thank you, Miss Potter,"

Walking from the hall, Téa shrugged her bag further up her shoulder while considering the reasons why the Headmaster would wish to speak with her. There could be multiple reasons, from speaking to her as a Headmaster to speaking her about the Horcruxes and her current knowledge of them which - sad to say wasn't very large. She would need to fix that swiftly but the potion had taken up most of her time as well as schoolwork since the teachers seemed to be adamant she get extra work.

There was also the fact that he would want to speak to her about the large Basilisk carcass that was laying in the Chamber of Secrets before she cut it up and began selling parts in small portions. It was possible Slughorn believed he had a right to the corpse as he was Potion Master of Hogwarts, The trouble was he didn't.

"I wonder how much effort it would take to have a Basilisk Farm, " she remarked thoughtfully to her familiar.

"You would need to hatch the creatures first Mistress and it takes time, not to mention I do believe it is illegal nowadays to do so, " Attor remarked making her sigh.

"Details, I'm able to understand Basilisk's the problem would be to have a well-hidden location to have the farm, " she responded before arriving at the large gargoyle that guarded the Headmasters office.

"Jellybeans, " She hissed before shaking her head and repeating the words in English causing the statue to move aside.

Walking up the steps she was on the verge of knocking when the door opened.

Dumbledore could be dramatic at times, she thought before entering the rather large office only to come face to face with the headmaster and Horace Slughorn who looked rather smug. Forget the first options, bingo on the Basilisk option.

"Ah Téa so glad you could make it so early in the morning, come sit we have an item to discuss." the aged Headmaster remarked.

"First Professor, if this is about the Basilisk corpse that is rightfully mine, I will just have to ask you to get Aunt Amelia here." She proclaimed causing Horace to turn red while the Headmaster frowned.

"My dear, we can arrive at an understanding -" "Until this year you made no movement to claim the Basilisk, while I - at the time - had no idea that basilisks could be cultivated. This year I chose to cultivate the beast and as the one to have killed it, to begin with, I had every right to it." She announced interrupting the man before he could get started on his guilt trip.

"That Basilisk belongs to Hogwarts! It was on Hogwarts grounds!" Slughorn exclaimed angrily.

"Killed in self-defence not to mention the defence of the school, meaning the grounds do not count and the school lacks the legal right to its remains. I - as the one who killed it - have every right to its remains and so I have taken it. The Basilisk isn't here anymore. It has already been cut up." She announced in a rather casual tone.

"Is that all Headmaster?"

The question was asked in a simple matter but it was obvious she wasn't budging on her statement. She knew her rights and she wasn't about to lose the corpse of one of the biggest Basilisk's to ever live to a - a snob with greedy fingers.

"I see you're point Miss Potter and I agree that Hogwarts lays no claim to the Basilisk corpse. Horace, you should leave. I have other items to discuss with Miss Potter." the Headmaster remarked causing the large potion master to go from red to purple to slightly pink.

"Albus - that beast -" "Horace, our student speaks the truth, do not push the issue further as you will not have my support in the matter." Dumbledore declared calmly before motioning to the door. "You have a class to teach Horace, "

"Oh - Oh, very well then, " the man grumbled before storming out of the office.

"The man always did try to claim events out of his control. " Dumbledore remarked rather calmly as the door shut behind the large man.

* * *

 **Author note:**

HOLLY SHIT! That took so long it's unbelievable! I am so sorry for the lack of updates, but I've had such a hard time with this chapter. Finally, I got a small spark at work the other day and just had to write a bit and well here you go! I have it complete and so not what I had planned but it holds, right!

Anyway I promised I'd continue and I am, just taking a bit longer then I thought it all. So have a Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year, hope its better then last year!

NUMBER 2: Thank you to Dawn Ryder113 for pointing out a few mistakes that seemed to be made during my correction phase. One of the spellcheckers I use can come up with some weird has fixes in a phrase - things that make no sense at all - and my mouse is a bit click happy. So thank you for pointing them out to me.


	34. Chapter Thirty-four

_**Chapter Thirty-four**_

 ** _Maybe getting a bit to bussy_**

 ** _..._**

* * *

...

Using the Room of Requirements was, now that she considered it, not the best idea for brewing the potion. That left her with her only other choice and the reason she was leading Neville through the vastly un-used section of Hogwarts.

She would need to bring Neville down into the Chamber. Attor had taught her the passageways in and out of the chamber that didn't come from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. This meant it was easier to get to the chamber.

"I'm terrible at potions," Neville mumbled.

"I don't bloody care Nev," Téa sang, laughter bubbling from her as she led the way to the chamber. "So Neville, you'll be the first to enter the chamber–that's not capable of speaking to snakes–since it was built."

"huh?"

"Welcome," she declared as the passageway opened revealing the chamber behind it. "To the Chamber of Secrets!"

Neville could not believe his eyes or his ears. Did his friend really just bring him down to the most thought after chamber in the entire school? The place where the Monster of Slytherin was located?

Stepping in, he felt the impact of the words, when he spotted the large snake statues flanked a stone bathroom which was sided by pools of water. Large torches burned bright illuminating the chamber.

"This is–this is where we're going to–"

"Brew, yes the Chamber of Secrets is the best place for brewing as nobody will walk in on us or interfere with the potion." She explained before leading the way to a side passage. "I found this place during another exploring trip in the chamber." She continued before they arrived in a fast open space, better lit than the other yet not by flaming torches. Small white orbs with small balls of light within. There was no water and the walls and floor were all covered in very clean stone. It resembled a potion lab almost.

"It's perfect for brewing potions," he remarked knowing at least that much concerning potions.

It didn't take long to set up everything Téa had brought. The cauldron was soon on its flames before jugs of water were poured into it. Next, a table was summoned and ingredients set upon it with knives and scales.

"One last chance Téa do you" "Grab a knife and slice the liquorice root," she ordered making the teen gulp before he jumped into action.

…

Time began to fly by for Téa. Classes mixed with her extra studies, Patronus classes and potion brewing were filling her time. She had little time for her search for Le Fay Castle, or the , Patronus Classes were coming to an end as there were not as many students left that couldn't perform it. The potion needed three weeks to brew than a further two weeks to sit before it could be administered.

Currently, she was heading to Potion class, running a bit late when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Spinning around, her wand shot into her hand, aimed perfectly at the person's throat before she realized just who had stopped her.

Theodore Nott froze in surprise as her wand tip pressed into his throat; his eyes were wide in surprise while his hands had risen in a defensive manner.

"Sorry," he croaked making her blush before she lowered her wand allowing it to return to its holster.

"No I'm sorry, I didn't expect you and I'm – a bit paranoid." She remarked trying not to sound too sheepish.

"I think that's understandable considering events," he chuckled, brushing it off as though he was used to getting a wand pointed at him. "You're a busy person, I've been attempting to catch you to talk about something but never seem to get the chance."

"Talk about what?" she asked curiously unsure where this was going.

"You're the top student in our defence lesson right? He questioned making her blink.

"Not sure, you'd have to ask Professor Lupin," she answered beginning to walk allowing Theo to walk beside her. "Why,"

"Don't pretend, you are the best Defence student in our year and not just ours, you can destroy most six years." He remarked making her blush slightly.

"Fine, I might have the highest grades in our year but why do you want to know?" She questioned, curious as to why the boy was asking her about her ranking.

"I – right you might think this silly but, I've been looking for somebody that would like to spar with me. I want to get better and you are really the only one I could think of that would maybe be willing to teach me a few things and work with me. I'm positive you heard about this summer." The last part was muttered angrily yet Téa understood instantly what he was getting to.

"Theo I can't imagine what you've been through concerning your father and what you're fathers been through. What happened to the both of you is a terrible thing. It should never have happened but it did and adjusting after that can be hard. I'd be happy to spar with you but –" here she saw disappointment flash through Theodore's eyes before he looked forward. "I'm a little busy at the moment, so I won't be able to do it that many times during the week but my Patronus Lessons will be over soon and that will open time up. I've also been working on a personal project that's almost over so that will free up time as well. I do know Angelina has been trying to corner me considering I'm a backup for the Quidditch team but I should have some openings come up soon."

"Wait you – actually would want to spare with me?" he questioned, sounding surprised.

"We're lab partners in Potions, I think I've come to know you a bit better than before and to be honest I would like to know you more. I'd be happy to duel you and help you with Defence if you do the same for me." She laughed before they finally arrived at their Potion class. "I have the perfect room in mind for it."

Slipping into the classroom, they were just in time as Slughorn entered the office as well. Taking their seats, they waited for the man to set himself up before he turned to them.

"Today we will be working on a team project!" the man announced sounding far too cheerful.

"Each group will be given a poison; they must give as much information on the poison as possible as well as its antidote or antidotes. This project is to be handed in in five weeks. Today instead of brewing I have received permission from Headmaster Dumbledore to bring you to the library so that you may begin your search." The man announced making many look up in surprise. "First you'll be assigned your poison, out of this hat; you will pick a small piece of parchment on which your poison is written. Why don't we start with the Potter/Nott team,"

Looking to her partner Theo motioned for her to rise.

"I'll let you pick," he added making her chuckle before she rose to her feet and walked over.

Dipping her hand into the bag provided by the short Professor, she brushed the tips of her fingers against rough parchment until finally plucking one out. Looking at it, she grinned.

"Swooping Evil," she declared earning a happy laugh from the man.

"Yes, yes the Swooping Evil, not a poison but a venom, there are some of those in the bag as well." He remarked while she returned to her seat and look to Theo who was frowning.

"I've heard of it before," he muttered.

"The Swooping Evil is a blue and green-winged magical creature. It looks like a cross between a reptile and an extremely large butterfly. It can be quite dangerous because its an encephalophage –" "A what?" Theo questioned confused and a bit curious about how the girl knew about that type of creature.

"it feeds on people's brains," she chuckled making the pale wizard wince.

"That's just – damn that's nasty." He grumbled.

"It secretes venom, which was named after it, and when it's properly diluted can be used to erase bad memories. It was used a long time ago, during the time of Grindelwald by Newt Scamander to erase the memories of muggles when the magical world was revealed to them." The frown she got had her confused until Theo shook his head.

"I have no idea how you know that History is absolutely horrible and yet you know that."

"I prefer to read History books instead of listening to Binns drown on and on about Goblin wars. Plus, my personal project calls for two drops of the venom." She remarked surprising Theo.

"Your personal project is a potion?" he asked curiously.

"Yep, very important. You'll learn about it later if it works as planned." She remarked before the final team picked their poison.

Rising to their feet, the class followed their teacher as he led them to the library. They stayed as quiet as possible considering the classes they were passing by until they arrived at the library where they were allowed to at least whisper.

Pulling Theo with her, she led the way to the Magical Creature section.

"So what days are you available to work on this and our – duelling?" Theo asked as they passed over books.

"How about Friday evening?" She asked curiously earning a nod from Theodore.

"Sounds good to me," He agreed before pulling a book from the shelf. "I suppose we also have to give some information on the creature from which the venom is taken."

"Good idea, I also have a history book here and I think I have a book on venoms in my trunk, I'll have to get that later," she mumbled while looking at the history book and leading the way to one of the unused tables. "Which one of us has the better handwriting?"

"Does it matter?" Theo asked curiously while unpacking his things.

"At times," came the mumbled response making him look up to see the young witch pulling out what looked to be little squares of loose sheets in different colours from her book.

"What are those?" he asked while picking one up and running his thumb over the edge.

"Post-it note, , muggle invention brilliant for marking pages without marking pages," the teen answered before grabbing another set and looking to her teammate. "You can have those if you want, just peel the first one off and stick it to a page when you find relevant information. I've charmed them so that the ink doesn't bleed through."

"That's rather unique," he mumbled before noticing one of the girl's books and how many notes were stuck here and there on the pages, different colours and sizes.

"I asked about your handwriting because we're going to go through notes but then we're going to have to pull our notes together and actually form one big essay. The person with the best writing should be the one to write it or at least with the best grammar." She explained making him look up from his observation of the blue sticky paper.

"You have the best handwriting," he answered making her laugh before she pulled her pens out making him frown.

"Inkwell pens? Not very popular in the magical world,"

"Yet better then quills, I only use Quills when I have to, they are a pain in the arse and I can go without if I wanted to. Inkwell pens are so much better."

"You are very different Téa Potter."

"In a good way I hope," she teased playfully making his lips quirk up.

"In a very good way,"

For some reason the tone he used made Téa look at him, her cheeks slowly growing red until she looked down at her book. She didn't know why she acted that way and she hurried to push her emotions down.

The last thing she needed was to be asking herself questions about Theodore Nott, she had way more on her plate.

...

Looking out over the Quidditch pitch from her place in the stands, Téa watched as the team practised. She saw Ginny zooming about on the pitch on the firebolt looking quite comfortable doing dives and spins.

The team was being worked hard by Angelina and she couldn't help but feel a bit sad that she wasn't part of the team this year.

Looking back down at her book she marked a new section with a post-it and was about to turn when she heard a scream.

Head snapping up, her eyes instantly took note of one of the falling players. Stuffing her book into her bag she raced down to the pitch heart racing in her chest as she hoped that whatever happened wasn't too terrible.

Arriving on the pitch she sprinted towards the gathered group glad to see that somebody had caught the falling figure. It was only when she arrived at the scene that she swiftly recognized Katie on the ground, her form motionless as her eyes were closed. The grass around her was slowly darkening as blood oozed from her head.

Throwing her bookbag to the side, she swiftly pulled her wand from her pocket, not her holly wand but the other and began the techniques Helga taught her. She wasn't overly skilled at healing but she would be able to help somewhat. Once she had the bleeding under control she summoned a stretched.

"Keep her neck straight we need her on the stretcher," she ordered thankful when both Fred and George did as told carefully lifting Katie before placing her on the hovering stretcher. With another spell, Téa summoned two pieces of foam to place on either side of the girls head to keep it in place.

"Expecto Patronum!" She cried, the tip of her wand glowing before her grim shot out and looked towards her. "Madam Pomfrey, major head injury, the student hit with a bludger. Bringing the student to the Hospital wing, head steadied so as not to move," she spoke clearly and with a nod, the patronus left hurrying towards the hospital wing to deliver its message.

"Grab my bag," she shot over her shoulder while hurrying from the pitch.

Racing up the grounds of Hogwarts, they arrived in the castle. Taking little time they raced through the halls thankfully running into very few people and those they did run into hurried to get out of their way.

Thankfully they arrived at last and Téa was grateful that the matron was waiting for them ready and standing not far from her was the worried and pale looking Professor McGonagall.

"Well done Miss Potter, well done lay her on the bed, gently now. Yes perfect." The matron complimented before hurrying into work.

"Her cranium has been cracked, and she looks like she's lost quite a bit of blood. possible concussion."

Moving back Téa watched as the woman worked until she felt a hand on her shoulder making her look up to see Professor McGonagall looking at her with worry.

"You can use the lavatory to wash your hands, Miss Potter," she whispered causing Téa to look down at her hands which were bloodstained. She swiftly realized that her uniform was also covered in blood.

"I - right," she mumbled weakly before slowly walked over to the lavatory attached to the hospital wing.

Turning the water on using her elbow she hurried to scrub her hands, causing the water to run red until finally most of it was off. As soon as that was done she shut the water off before resting against the sink her eyes shutting.

"That was amazing," came a soft whisper that had her eyes shooting open and her head swivelling to see Alicia standing there looking pale and shaking slightly. "I never knew you knew healing spells."

"I don't know many - I did what I could," she whispered weakly.

"Better then what we could have done without you, Merlin Téa you could have saved her life," Alicia whispered before throwing herself forward and enveloping the girl in her arms. "If you wouldn't have been there - I don't want to think about that."

Wrapping her own arms around the older chaser, Téa felt herself lean into the hug, her eyes shutting again as she felt Alicia shake and a wet patch slowly begin to grow on her shoulder.

Only once the tears finished did Alicia pull away wiping at her eyes and sniffling.

"I'm sorry -" "Its okay Alicia, come on let's go see what Pomfrey has to say," she assured her friend before grabbing her hand and squeezing it for comfort earning a small smile from the teen.

Walking back into the hospital wing they found the rest of the team sitting on chairs, a white curtain had been pulled around Katie's bed. Walking over to Fred, she noticed swiftly how he seemed to be holding his one shoulder.

"Here," she offered while running her wand over it.

The diagnosis came quickly showing that he had a cracked shoulder blade. Using the bone mending spell Helga taught her she tapped his shoulder to numb it before performing the spell.

"Cracked shoulder blade, you shouldn't use it for a few days but its mended now," she assured him. A quick scorify had his clothes cleared of blood and she pulled him into a hug that her returned.

"I just say her falling and I - saw you falling in third year,"

"You caught her though so don't worry about what could have happened." She assured him before pulling George into the hug.

"My blugger hit her," the boy whispered. "I didn't direct it that way either."

"You wouldn't hurt Katie on purpose George, I know that you know that, everybody knows that and Katie certainly does. The bludgers move on their own accord, it's the risk of Quidditch," she assured him before pulling away slightly and looking him in the eye. "Doesn't make you responsible for her injury,"

The small smile she got from George made her certain he'd be able to forgive himself for his part in this whole thing and thankfully the curtain was pushed aside by Madam Pomfrey revealing Katie laying on the bed in hospital garb thick white bandages wrapped around her temple.

"Miss Bell will make a full recovery," she declared to the waiting group of teens making them all relax considerably. "You can thank Miss Potter for that. her quick actions in stopping the bleeding as well as making sure to keep her head and neck straight while bringing her straight here proved favorable to her health. I must want you though she will not be playing Quidditch for the rest of the year. Head injuries are finicky things and need time to heal."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey, can we stay?" Angelina asked and although the woman moved to hesitate she sighed and gave a nod.

"As long as you are all quiet you may stay, she won't wake up for now though."

"Thank you, ma'am,"

With that Madam Pomfrey left leaving the group with only Professor McGonagall in the room.

"Accidents happen, we can't control everything that happens around us, this isn't the first time an injury like this happens to a student on the Quidditch team. Do not blame yourselves. I expect you all to rest though so do not stay up all night." she declared before her eyes moved over them all and nodded seemingly assured they were fine before she also let.

As one the team slowly gathered around their fallen teammate's side, pulling chairs over to sit on. They were silent for the most part until Angelina looked around them with worried eyes.

"What are we going to do? We need a Chaser for the final game, we're playing Hufflepuff and they've been having a brilliant year," she whispered feeling foolish about bringing it up but knowing it needed to be.

"Any options?"

"A few but none that would work well with the team with only two weeks till the final match."

"What about me?" Téa offered stopping the team and making them look at her in surprise. "Ginny stays as Seeker, I'll play chaser. My dad played the position in school and I've trained with you guys in the past. I can get a new broom in very little time as well." she remarked making Angelina gap at her in shock.

"You'd - play chaser?"

"I would, I'm not just going to leave my team to fall behind when they need me most. I'll order a Nimbus or something from the store, it should get her quickly enough. We can practice on moves together for the next two weeks." she continued and for a moment Angelina felt like kissing the silver-haired teen.

"Why don't you play Seeker -" "Because you deserve the position, Ginny, you've played it all year I'm not going to take it away from you." she countered the redhead making her blush. "You worked hard, you all did I'm only jumping in because the team needs me to. I won't let you guys down and I'll do my best to play Chaser. I most definitely won't be as good as Katie or as you two but as long as I can play a supporting role for the both of you I think we should be good to play our final game."

"I think Katie would approve," Alicia agreed with a nod before looking at Angelina who looked close to tears.

"We have a lot of work if we're going to make you Chaser ready." their captain finally declared making the group smile even if it wasn't very big.

"I guess I need to go order a broom then," she whispered while rising to her feet.

Looking down at Katie, she let a hand ghost over the other girls before she bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Get better soon Katie," she whispered before leaving the hospital wing.

The next day at breakfast, news of the Gryffindor Chaser down for the count after a team practice had spread through the school like wild fire. The Hufflepuffs - although worried about Katie Bell's health were happy to know that one of Gryffindor's prime Chasers was out for the count for their final match.

The news of Téa acting as the new Chaser for the team had not been made public although that morning things were going to change as Hedwig flew into the hall with two other owls, holding a large and long box that caught the attention of the hall.

As it landed before the silver-haired witch, accepted that package allowing the owls to set off again while Hedwig landed on her shoulder.

"You flew fast Hedwig, thank you here's a treat." Téa cooed gently before handing the owl a piece of bacon that she swiftly gobbled at before hooting and leaving the Great Hall.

"What you order Téa?" Ron questioned curiously.

"Well with Katie injured and Madam Pomfrey out right telling us she can't play the next match I offered to play Chaser. Angelina accepted so I needed to get a new broom so that Ginny could continue playing Seeker on the Firebolt." She explained before opening the box revealing a gleaming brand new broom Nimbus 2000 the first broom Téa had ever flown on the Quidditch team and a model she had fallen in love with even if her Firebolt was better she didn't need the same speed as it for playing Chaser.

"A Nimbus 2000? Why not get the 2001 model?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Because Draco Malfoy flys a Nimbus 2001 and I prefer the Nimbus 2000. Hope its good enough Angelina?" she stated earning a small playful glare from the chaser.

"Hope its good enough, you're unbelievable, chaser practice every night of the week so show up at 7:00 and be ready to train fast. Normal Team training on our usual days." the Seventh year ordered before standing and leaving the hall.


	35. Chapter Thirty-five

_**Chapter 35**_

 _ **What sounds like a Donkey?**_

* * *

It was straight after class when Téa arrived at the Quidditch field. Nimbus 2000 in hand, she looked around to see that nobody was there before mounting the broom and taking flight.  
She loved the sensation of the wind in her hair and just took a moment to hover before slowly taking the feel of the broom once more. Flying circles around the pitch to start, she slowly pushed her speed until she felt comfortable again.  
There was a difference between the Nimbus and the Firebolt. It would have been foolish not to feel it, but thankfully the last time she flew her Firebolt was a long time ago. She was glad she had gone with a Nimbus; the broom wasn't a complete racing broom like the Nimbus 2001 and the Firebolt. She wouldn't be going too fast for the position she was about to play.  
Slowly moving through spins and dives, she felt herself relax until a shout had her twirling to a stop and turning to find Angelina and Alicia standing on the pitch smirks on their face.

"Having fun?!" Alicia shouted up making her blush before she slowly moved down.  
"It's been a while," she mumbled making the older girl chuckle.  
"Yet you look like you've not stopped flying. Natural talent damn it," Angelina grumbled good naturally before mounting her own broom. "Well, we better start, we need to mould our styles together, and we need to make sure you can catch a bloody quaffle. During team practice, we're also going to have Ginny practice with the snitch so that you don't get sidetracked. The last thing we need is passing a quaffle to you and you go oh snitch,"  
"I'm not dog," Téa pouted earning snorts from the duo. "Yeah but you're a Seeker,"  
"What's that supposed to mean?!" She exclaimed while laughter tumbled from both girls, sadly her willpower left her, and she followed suit.  
"Alright, alright let's run you through our moves. We don't have much time to practice, and we need to get you as good as you'll get." Angelina declared after recovering.

And so it started, running drills as a Chaser wasn't the easiest thing Téa did, but it swiftly became rather fun, and she was enjoying herself. Learning to catch the quaffle at different angles was hard, but she was slowly getting the hang of things.  
Finally, two hours into practice they chose to call it a night and head inside for some well-deserved dinner.

"What about we fly to the castle, get a last few moves in?" Alicia questioned.  
"Sure, will take less time, formation 1!" Angelina ordered and with that, she took the lead.

Following behind the two, she swiftly kicked her broom into a faster gear, swooping down under, Angelina before zoom up and above as though performing a barrel roll yet catching the quaffle in one hand and tossing it to Alicia who tossed it back. Arriving at the castle, they had to come to a quick stop as they spotted Professor McGonagall standing there, arms crossed over her chest an eyebrow raised.

"Although I am happy to see that you three are having fun, I expect you all in the Great Hall for dinner. After which you may make your way to the Hospital wing, Miss Bell woke up only a few minutes ago." The Head of Gryffindor declared making the trio freeze.  
"She's awake?" Alicia asked hopefully.  
"Indeed,"  
"Let's go see her!" Angelina exclaimed completely ignoring the woman's earlier statement of dinner in favour of jumping off her broom and racing off, Alicia not far behind.

Téa smiled as she dismounted her own broom shooting Professor McGonagall and apologetic look that had the aged witch shaking her head.

"Off you go Miss Potter; I'll have House elves send up some refreshments for the team considering I couldn't stop the others from going as well. Also, well done, you seem to be getting a hold of the Chaser position rather well." She complimented before stopping and looking away. "Much like your father, he could play both Chaser and Seeker."  
"Thank you, professor, Wood once said I'd make a good Beater, but thankfully we have the Weasley Twins for that. Don't know what we'll do next year, but we'll make do." The smile that ghosted over Professor McGonagall's face morphed into a found look as the fifth year Gryffindor hurried off down the halls towards the Hospital wing. She couldn't be prouder of her team.

Being the last to arrive at the Hospital wing meant that the food had already arrived by the time she got there. Still, she didn't care, spotting the team gathered around Katie's bed, she hurried over, placing her broom down with the others as she went. The moment she spotted the older girl resting comfortably on the bed, George on one side and Angelina on the other and a smile on her lips she felt her shoulders relax.  
The moment Katie spotted her, her smile seemed to grow, and she extended her hand to her allowing her to take it and gingerly lean forward to hug the girl.

"I'm glad you're better," she whispered into the Chaser's ear.  
"Thanks to you I hear, Madam Pomfrey was quick to tell me about your quick reaction. You always seem to be saving people you know." Katie whispered back before placing a kiss on her cheek and allowing her to pull away. "I also hear that you're taking my place as Chaser since Madam Pomfrey won't let me play the final match."  
"I was happy to help, especially since I was able to. As for the Chaser position, well I'm not as good as you three, but I think I can be good enough for the final match." She declared earning a warm smile from Katie.  
"I'll cheer you on, what you're doing is amazing you know that? It is not your position, but you're taking it on for us. Plus I know you're super busy."  
"Patronus Lessons are over, the last students were able to summon them, so we're finished with that, I'm almost done my personal project, The project in Potions is coming along nicely and my one on one with Theo for duelling only had one session but it was good. I'm still good." She remarked making the rest of the team look at her strangely.  
"When do you have time to do your homework?" Alicia asked curiously.  
"Oh, I do some in History — more of a self-study class that is. Divination is not something I'm planning on passing, so I've been doing homework in that class as well; everything is going well enough no need to worry." She answered before her stomach grumbled showing it was hungry.  
"Wow, training got me hungry,"

Shooting her teammates a grin, she headed to the table with food and filled a plate. Just in time as Madam Pomfrey came out. She spotted her plate and gave a nod of approval before heading over to another patient's bed. Returning to Katie's side, she settled at the foot and took a bite of a chicken salad sandwich.  
Conversation thankfully steered away from the topic of how busy she was, which she was grateful for. She knew she was busy, but she had things to do, and she thought she was doing rather well, considering everything.  
The rest of the evening passed in relative calmness, the team was forced to leave as curfew began to arrive and as a group headed off to the Common Room. The next day shone brightly though as Téa woke.

"Must you wake so early Mistress?" Attor questioned as the serpent grudgingly woke up — mostly because its warmth was removed.

Chuckling at the snake's verbal pout, Téa tossed her blankets aside and stretched. Rising she did a few stretches to warm herself up before grabbing a fresh uniform from her trunk. She had taken her shower the night before because of practice and would take another tonight for the same reason. She just hated going to bed sweaty and covered in grime from the previous day.  
Once dressed, she ran a brush through her hair before noticing the grimoire on her desk. She swore the damn thing had been in her trunk, and she didn't have a chance to look through it again so it had remained there.  
Eyes narrowing she reached down and opened the cover. Instantly the pages began to flip on their own until they stopped and a new message was revealed.

We must always look to the horizon to see the future, the light — so bright and warm — snuffed by the darkness to come.  
Remain, strong young dreamers, your time will come,  
Be patient but stay strong

The passage made little sense and Téa felt more than a little confused. Shaking her head she shut the grimoire before returning it to her trunk. She hesitated a moment before looking down at the outfit inside. The gleaming armour shined up at her, even if she never polished it. With a final shake, she shut her trunk and grabbed her book bag. Scooping Attor into her arms, she left the room.  
Although she tried to push the book's message from her mind, it didn't seem to work. With Divination being her first class, she settled in the furthest row and finished her Transfiguration homework. Thankfully, Professor Trelawney stayed away from her and Ron who was also working on final homework but for Charms.  
After Divination, they had a break, which didn't help bring her mind back to the message even as she fingered her wand nervously. Both her wands were on her person. One strapped to her wrist the other to her thigh for easy access.  
Finally, Transfiguration came, and she settled into a seat by Hermione who gave her an odd look.

"What has you so unsettled today?" The brown-haired person questioned curiously making her sigh.  
"Something happened this morning that has my nerves on edge, it's probably nothing to worry about Hermione, and I'm just being paranoid." She grumbled.

Thankfully, Professor McGonagall entered the classroom not long after stopping Hermione from continuing her questioning. They handed in their homework before the aged witch began her lesson for the day.  
Yet no matter the importance of the lesson, Téa still thought about the message Hades had sent her. Could it be a warning? A warning to an upcoming attack, if so why be so cryptic? It was as though he wanted her to be on guard, but at the same time not know what the hell was going to happen so that she couldn't stop it.  
A hand moving into the line of sight broke her of her thoughts though, and she looked up to see Professor McGonagall walking away. Looking back down at the note, she hurried to open it only to sigh at the message inside.

Stay after class

Stupid Grimoire, why did Hades have to distract her like this she didn't know. Months without a single word and then BAM!, he writes some sentence that has her overthinking. Stuffing the note in her bag, she shook her head and concentrated on the lesson being given. She had little wish to fall behind in transfiguration especially as it was a very important class.

As the hour ticked by, most of the class was filled with theory until finally, the bell rang, and they were dismissed. With a tired sigh, Téa gathered her possession yet remained seated.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," she remarked as both Hermione and Ron gave her curious looks.  
"You sure you don't want us to wait?" Hermione asked.  
"No, go eat, I'll be there soon." She answered and although still hesitant, the duo left. Once the last student left the class, Téa rose to her feet and approached the front of the classroom.  
"Miss Potter — Téa although you've been doing very well recently I can't help but notice your absence today." Professor McGonagall remarked after sitting behind her desk.  
"I'm sorry professor, something happened this morning that took my attention and doesn't seem to want to let go. I'll do my best to concentrate though." She apologized earning a nod from her Head of House.  
"I noticed, perhaps Miss Potter you should take time and just — breathe. I have noticed how busy you have been since your return to Hogwarts and I have to admit I find myself concerned with your welfare. I have checked on your current grades in your classes for the rest of the day and you are doing very well. This is why I am ordering you to go to lunch before going back to Gryffindor tower and having a good rest."

This caused Téa's head to shoot up her eyes widening in surprise. She moved to protest, but the Head of Gryffindor raised her hand to stop her.

"No, I do not want to see you in the library and I had better not hear about you working on your homework. Ask your friends to take notes for you during your next classes. This also extends to Astronomy. Professor Sinistra has also informed me that you have sufficiently caught up in her class, and she feels confident that you do not need to attend the extra classes you both agreed to. Get some rest Téa the last thing you need is to fall into exhaustion."  
"I understand Professor, thank you." She whispered head bowed as she realized what the woman was doing for her.

Of course, it wasn't like she could just tell the woman that the message she received that morning was from Hades and that it involved a possible attack. She just needed to take the rest as it was given and perhaps get a few extra hours of sleep.

"Good now, make your way to lunch and then I expect to hear that you are in Gryffindor tower resting. I will personally inform Miss Johnson that there will not be a practice tonight." McGonagall declared before motioning her to leave.

Doing as told, Téa made her way to the Great Hall and found both Hermione and Ron nervously awaiting her arrival. The moment she sat down, she took out her homework for each class and handed it to Hermione.

"McGonagall ordered me to rest for the remainder of the day. Could you give those in for me and take notes?" She asked the brunette.  
"Of course," Hermione quickly agreed, placing the assignments in her bag while Ron gave her concerned looks.  
"You're overworking yourself." He remarked making her snort.  
"No, just — something happened this morning that ruffled my feathers, I'll be fine." She sighed before grabbing some food.  
"You can tell us you know that right?" Hermione remarked making her smile.  
"I know, don't worry I'm fine,"  
"Famous last words mate," Ron grunted making her snort.

Looking down at her food, she missed the raised eyebrow from Ron before he shot Hermione a look.

Lunch didn't last very long so after eating her fill, Téa left for Gryffindor Tower. Thankfully the tower was quiet, and she made her way up the stairs before slumping into the bed.

"At last, I told you that you should have stayed in bed today Mistress," Attor grunted making her lips twitch.  
"Clearly, perhaps I should listen to you more often my friend, still it's not exhaustion getting me, it's that message from Hades. Do you think he's trying to warn me of an attack? I mean it's possible. Voldemort has always attacked Hogwarts at the end of the year and nobody is to say this one will be different." She mumbled before turning around and looking up at the bottom of her canopy.  
"Mistress I believe that the correct words you are looking for are, be on guard, but do not let your guard exhaust you." The serpent remarked while curling onto her chest.  
"Who said that?" She chuckled.  
"A wise serpent called Attor, now listen to me and rest. You're more exhausted than you notice and you won't be on guard when you need to be." The snake grumbled before resting its head under her chin, its little tongue flicking out to tickle her making her laugh.  
"Morgana, when this war is over I'm taking a long overdue holiday somewhere bloody warm for a year," she mumbled while a yawn left her lips.  
"You must bring me and no-one else." the serpent agreed, making her smile before sleep fell once more upon her.

It was hours later that Hermione arrived in Gryffindor Tower. She was coming to get her friend for dinner but upon arriving in their dorm she spotted her slumber form curled on top of the blankets. Attor was curled against her, and both were sound asleep.

She hesitated before choosing against waking the silver-haired teen from her sleep. Walking over though she pulled a throw blanket over her friends figure before walking back out of the dorm, leaving her books behind and shutting the door as she went.

Author note:

If you can believe it, I completely forgot about this chapter and started writing a chapter entitled Chapter 35. It was highly amusing finding this chapter here and I'm quite happy as well. I have the beginnings of a Chapter 36 on the go!


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

_**Chapter 36**_

 ** _Times are free_**

* * *

"You're holding your wand a little too tightly, try relaxing your grip, like that and – yes that perfect now try it."

It was late in the evening. Most students were in their dorms or in the library finishing final assignments before the curfew was to hit. For Theodore Nott and Téaleon Potter though they were in the Room of Requirements during their weekly meeting. Téa was still dressed in her Quidditch workout gear of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt having come straight from the pitch to work with Theo.

"Reducto!" Theo growled and as a blue light left the tip of his wand, it smashed into the dummy reducing it to a pile of ashes.  
"Perfect!" Téa cried out happy to see her friend who grinned triumphantly.  
"You have a natural talent you know that?" he remarked while pocketing his wand and turning to her satisfied with that night's events.  
"A natural talent for what?" She asked amusement lacing her voice as she moved to grab her broom.  
"Teaching, you're brilliant at it, you'd give Lupin a run for his money." He answered, smirk growing as he noticed the blush now covering his companions cheeks. "You have plenty of patients and you're good at picking up points where people go wrong. You are also not stupid about pointing them out. You do it without wounding my ego.,"

That made her laugh, and he grinned, he liked her laugh. It wasn't often she let it free but when she did laugh around him, he wanted to hear it more. Of course, the thought swiftly made him look away back to the ashes of the dummy. He felt like a fool thinking about things like that. Ever since they started meeting up for their potion assignment and then these "lessons" he had been noticing more and more things about Téaleon Potter.  
He had to keep kicking himself whenever he caught himself staring at her too long, and he knew it was becoming a problem. People were noticing, like Daphne. The blonde always got this smirk on her face when she caught him staring at the silver-haired witch.  
She began joking that he should just ask her to Hogsmeade already and be done with it. Not that he could ever do that. The girl would never agree to go on a date with him.

"These lessons are fun," came the remark that pulled him from his thoughts making him turn to face her earning a bright smile that had his own lips twitching up.  
"They are indeed," he agreed and yet inside he couldn't help but think that she looked beautiful with that smile on her face."We shouldn't head to our common rooms, wouldn't want to be caught out after hours."  
"Would not be the first time," she laughed as they walked side by side out of the room. "I swear Snape thinks I do it every night."  
"You probably do it regularly and don't deny it." he teased making her laugh.  
"Probably, have a good night Theo," she whispered before turning and heading towards the direction of Gryffindor tower.

Watching her leave, Theo turned as well before stopping. He didn't know what suddenly came over him — perhaps he was just tired of Daphne teasing him, perhaps he genuinely wanted to do this but as he turned and called out to the Gryffindor girl she turned to face him in confusion.

"Are you doing anything for Hogsmeade?"

The look of surprise made him almost want to turn and run away but it swiftly morphed into a blush as she shook her head.

"Nothing," she answered making his heart skip a beat. "Why?"  
"I — Would you like to go with me? It's Sunday, the day after the final match with Hufflepuff." He remarked feeling a bit foolish for stating the obvious. "You don't have to say yes, I just thought I'd — "Yes," came the soft response that had his eyes shooting away from their downcast look.  
"I'd — I would very much like to go with you." She elaborated making his smile grow.  
"Really — uh brilliant, I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall say, 10:00? Knowing you Gryffindors, if you win the party will last till about then." He joked making her laugh.  
"You haven't been to a party until you've been to a Gryffindor party," she joked before nodding her head. "I'll see you in the Entrance Hall for 10:00." She agreed before turning back around and heading off leaving Theo to watch, his smile slowly growing wider until it felt like his face would split in two.

He really didn't know where these feelings for the silver-haired witch had come from. Or when, but they started sometime after that first Patronus Lesson and only seem to grow as they worked together. Potion class with the Gryffindor was quite enjoyable; she had a talent he hadn't known about and a laugh that made him smile.

"I have a bloody date with Téaleon Potter," he mumbled before footsteps caught his attention.  
"Nott, five minutes till curfew. You best head to the dorm," came the sharp remark from Severus Snape that had him looking back to see his Head of House standing there. "What are you doing here anyway?"  
"Oh just extra tutoring Professor," he hurried to say not wanting to mention that his teacher was Téa considering the man's hatred of the girl.  
"I see, see that you make it to the dorm without being caught," he ordered and with a nod, Theo hurried off.

Slinking through the halls, he avoided Flitwick doing a sweep of the halls before finally arriving in the dungeons. With a quick go through the Hieroglyphic Hall, he arrived at Slytherin Common Room or at least the bare stretch of stonewall in the dungeons that was the entrance to the Common room. A muttered password had the passage revealing itself.  
Slipping through, he arrived in the common area to find it mostly empty although one look to the fireplace, and he swiftly spotted his group of friends. They always waited for him after his one on ones with Téa. He'd wager that they were interested in the girl as much as him — well maybe not as much, but they were still quite interested.

"So how did tonight's one on one go?" Daphne was the first to ask as he settled into his chair.  
"Quite well actually," he answered his grin unable to leave his face as he thought about the fact he now had a date to Hogsmeade.  
"Something happened; you're grinning like you got your favourite dessert," Flora remarked making the others look to him with curious looks.  
"Like the cat that got the canary and the mouse." Blaise drawled amusement lacing his voice.  
"Well — I have a date to Hogsmeade," he remarked knowing he couldn't hide the information from his group of friends and the smirk that crawled onto Daphne's face had him closing his eyes.  
"She accepted to go to Hogsmeade with you of all people? Her judgement truly must be impaired." The blonde-haired girl playfully teased making the others snort.  
"I wasn't planning on asking but — it just shot out, and she said yes. We're meeting for 10:00 in the entrance hall and no I don't expect you to spy on us. For all I know, she might think it's just friends hanging out together and not the date I actually want it to be. Bloody hell when did I start thinking like this?" he asked earning snorts of amusement from the group."  
"With how you look at her in the Great Hall, I'm surprised the rumour mill hasn't started talking about it." Hestia laughed causing Theo to grumble.  
"Just think, she may be in the best mood of her life if they manage to win against Hufflepuff. No idea with she's even good at playing chaser if she does win you might wind up with a kiss." Daphne giggled, at the look on her friends face though they group burst into laughter earning weird looks from the rest of the people in the common room.

Entering Gryffindor common room, Téa finally allowed herself to relax. With her knowledge of the secret passageways, she was happy to be able to avoid members of staff and prefects alike. Of course, it was a miracle in its own right that she was able to think about passageway when her mind was so occupied with other things.

"Hey Téa!" came a shout that had her shaken from her thoughts and turn to find both Ron and Hermione sitting by the fire.  
"What has your thoughts in a mix?" Hermione asked as she joined them, setting her broom down.  
"I just got asked to Hogsmeade." She answered without much thought earning a frown from Ron and a squeal of happiness from Hermione.  
"Who? Is it a date? Did you say yes?"  
"Somebody's excited; it's not Nott is it?" Ron questioned shooting his friend a frown.  
"I'm a girl Ronald; I may enjoy studying and learning, but it does not mean I don't like talking about my best friend going on a date," Hermione growled.  
"Wow, who said it was a date; he didn't — specify I mean I — Would like it to be a date but I don't' know if he'd like it to be a date. Theo could — might like to just go as friends for all I know," Téa exclaimed, eyes widening as her hands moved in a waving manner before her.  
"Oh don't be silly Téa; of course it's a date. Theodore Nott doesn't just ask you to go to Hogsmeade as friends; he spends enough time with you for that, this is a date. Oh, this is exciting. You're going on a date with Theodore Nott, wait — what's wrong with Theodore Ronald?" Hermione exclaimed while turning on the red-haired boy who inched back as far as he could.  
"He — I don't think he's good enough for Téa, as an older brother figure I have the right to judge." He grunted earning an eye roll from Hermione while Téa laughed at the boy's attics.  
"Listen, I don't even know if it is a date and if it is. The last thing I want is Remus getting a sniff of it and telling Sirius who'd come racing to Hogwarts insisting on supervising it. Plus I have more things to worry about then this thing being a date or not, Quidditch, for instance, I have a game to play and other things." She remarked, mind going to the message in her grimoire that still hadn't come true. Then there was Neville's potion, it would be done this week, and she couldn't be more excited. Soon Neville's parents would be getting better, and she was really looking forward to that happy reunion.  
"You worry about far too many things to be healthy," Hermione declared a frown marring her features before she shook her head and settled back in her seat.  
"I have a lot on my plate, but it's all important." She remarked, amusement lacing her voice before she drew a sigh. "I better go take shower and then get to bed,"  
"Resting, that's a good idea, how is chaser practice going?" Ron asked curiously.  
"As well as can be, it's not my best position but I'm doing better than I thought." She answered before grinning. "Ginny mentioned she'd like to try for the position next year and I'll be able to retake my Seeker position,"  
"I'm sure you're doing better than you think," Hermione assured her before her eyes narrowed. "You're not overworking yourself again are you?"  
"Hermione, really I haven't overworked myself. People are worrying about me for no reason, but anyway I need to go. See you guys tomorrow." She called out while walking away.

The rest of the week moved by far too quickly for Téa's liking. With how busy she was, she had to put a hold on her one on ones with Theo. Thankfully the other boy seemed to understand.  
With daily Quidditch practice and the end of the year coming faster and faster. The teachers were putting more and more work on their shoulders trying their best to prepare them for their upcoming O.W.L's.  
Yet the most exciting thing for the week though was by far Neville's potion. That was why they were both hurrying down to the dungeons' Téa practically skipping while Neville looked curious.  
He still didn't know what the potion would do or what it was being used for. He tried looking it up but nothing came out of it especially when he wasn't the best at Potions. Still, his friend looked excited and that was what mattered really, it was clearly going to make something really good happen.

"You're going to be really happy with the results," she remarked as they finally entered the chamber.  
"What is the potion for?" he finally asked, earning a laugh before Téa shook her head and waged her finger before his face. "I'll tell you soon enough and I know you're going to be really happy. At least I hope so,"  
"Téa what sort of potion would help me and make me this happy? I don't think any potion could help unless it's to help with my horrible memory." He joked before they arrived at the brewing area.

The fire was gone, had been gone for two weeks now and the potion lay motionless in the cauldron. The surface was clear as glass and the liquid inside was like water. There wasn't a lot inside the cauldron, a large portion of it had evaporated during the brewing. With careful fingers, Téa withdrew two vials from her pocket. The vials were very different from what Neville had seen before and what they used in Potion class. They were clear, and the stopper was made of the same material.  
"Crystal stoppers," she explained before handing one to him, which he took with slightly shaking hands. "Fill it and cork it, make sure to use the gold ladle."

With that, she grabbed it and dipped the golden spoon into the potion. The surface shimmered like a rainbow before she pulled it out. As gently as possible, she poured the liquid into the crystal stopper. It took two ladies, but the thing was soon full, and she corked it tightly. With shaking fingers, Neville did the same.

"Right now we go see Professor McGonagall," she announced while giving her vial to Neville who looked at her with confusion.  
"Why?"  
"Because she can give us permission to leave the grounds, or at least you permission to leave the grounds, don't drop those and let's move." She chirped happily making Neville's right eye twitch.

The trip they took to their Head of House' office was a short one, cutting through secret passageways until they arrived at the wooden door. With a firm knock, they waited and weren't disappointed when the intimidating woman opened the door looking curious at their arrival.

"Miss Potter, Mister Longbottom, what can I help you both with?" she questioned, eyeing the crystal vials in Neville's hands.  
"Could we speak privately Professor; it's a conversation that I'm sure will take a bit of explaining but for now I just need trust." She announced happily and although hesitant the older witch gave a nod and moved aside to let them in.

As the door shut behind them the Head of Gryffindor walked around her desk and settled down, placing her hands together she looked at her students with a raised eyebrow showing they should speak.

"Since my – return I've been working on a very important project. This project involves Neville here although he doesn't know to what extent. Professor, during my time away I one of my teachers told me of a very special potion." Téa began before removing her journal from her pocket and placing it before the woman who raised an eyebrow before grabbing the leathered book.

Slowly green eyes traced each word, growing wider and wider while her hands began to shake until she looked up at her student with very wide eyes.

"Miss Potter is this — you are not — this is not a prank –"  
"No, no prank I can assure you of that. It's an old potion Professor and was only ever used once. I am assuming it was not very well documented at the time, but I was able to brew the potion with Neville. Those two vials contain a single dosage each." She didn't take offence to her Professor's hesitation; she knew why.  
"This is — perhaps you should explain this to Mister Longbottom." McGonagall murmured sounding shocked.  
"Do you give us permission to go Professor? I want to administer these to them today." She remarked hoping the woman would agree.  
"Indeed, I will accompany you both; come we'll use my floo."  
"Where are we going?" Neville asked curiously.  
"St-Mungos' how is you're flooing skills?" she asked curiously making Neville frown.  
"Not the best," he answered sounding very confused. "Why are we going to St-Mungos?"  
"Because that's where we need to be, I'll floo with the vials; I've got much better at it and actually walk out. You wouldn't like it if we dropped those." She remarked while gingerly grabbing both vials.  
"We must be quick in going now," McGonagall called over and with nods, they hurried to the fireplace and went through with a single shout of their destination.

Arriving in the main hallway of the magical hospital Téa waited patiently for Neville and McGonagall to arrive. When they did, they hurried off towards their destination although Neville was confused.

"Neville a long – very long time ago one of my ancestors was a superb potion Mistress. She invented a potion that wasn't very needed at the time, perhaps because it had never happened before until one person needed it. After, its knowledge disappeared with exception to the notebook my ancestor kept." Téa explained before looking towards her friend who was listening rather amply. "The reason I required your specific help in this Neville is that this potion is going to alter your life forever."  
"I don't understand?"  
"The cruciatus curse is a horrible curse Neville," she whispered instantly spotting the darkening of her friend's eyes as well as the sadness. "But its effects can be modified; the information was just — lost. I want you to take these vials, and you're going to give them to the two people who you've wanted to know for the longest time. They must swallow it all," she declared while handing the vials over to Neville who had frozen at the site of his parent's room.  
"What — I — when — what?"

Standing off to the side, Minerva tried her best not to snort in amusement. The boy was clearly in shock, and she couldn't blame him. His friend had just sprung something world-changing upon him and even she didn't know if she'd react any differently.

"Neville, this-this right here," she declared before trusting the vials into Neville's hands. "These vials hold the potion that will help cure your parents. They'll help them return to the land of the living; they only need one more ingredient and that ingredient comes from within you." She whispered before placing a finger on his forehead.  
"Memories, as many memories as you can think, happy memories. They need to know that there is something out here for them to come to. They need to think about the happiest thing in their lives and this potion will help those memories break through the pain that their memory is holding down upon them." She whispered as the boy stared at her like she was the weirdest person in the world.  
"I — you — is this — really?" he whispered before she smiled and placed the tip of her wand against his temple.  
"Close your eyes and think about happy memories Neville, all you're happy memories, your childhood, everything you want them to see." She whispered, "Things you wanted them there for,"

Gingerly removing the stoppers of each vial, she watched as her friend shut his eyes. Slowly she moved her wand strands of silvery light attached to the tip before gingerly falling into the vials.

This took much time before Neville finally opened eyes, showing the tears that hadn't fallen yet.

"All you need to do is administer the potions, Nev," she whispered before moving aside and opening the door to the long-term mental ward.

The boy didn't move, he simply stared ahead before turning to look at his friend who gave him a smile.

"You can do this," she whispered hoping the boy trusted her.

With shaking steps, he finally moved. Entering the ward with slow steps, he tried to control his breathing while looking around. Instantly his eyes landed on his parent's section, both were laying in their beds, and he slowly moved over. Beside him Téa walked, staying by his side as support.

He couldn't believe what was happening. All his life he never dreamed this would actually happen, then in the span of a few minutes, his friend drops the biggest bomb on top of his shoulders.

The potion he helped brew; the potion he helped make and held in his sweaty hands was a potion that his friend believed would help his parents return to their old selves. He wanted to believe his friend; he wanted to believe that his parents could return and a large part of him did believe, it was a small part of him that wasn't sure. That was hesitant to believe because he didn't want to be broken-hearted that it didn't work.

Still standing at his mother's side, he looked at her. He looked remarkably like his mother; they had the same round face, although hers was thinner and the same eyes. Her hair was short and white. It was washed not long ago because it normally looked wispier.

The woman's eyes stared un-recognizing at him before looking at the vials he held. Perhaps it was the years of taking potions that affected her, but she reached out for the vial and Neville tenderly gave it to her.

He didn't wait to watch her drink it, he couldn't. He turned instead to his father who also reached out for the vial.

Once they both had it, he turned away glancing at his friend who was looking at him with understanding eyes. Moving forward, he swiftly wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Eyes tightly shut he tried not to cry.

Off to the side; Minerva watched the duo with a sad smile before her eyes turned to her old students. The contents of the vials were gone, and they both had closed eyes, pained expressions covered their faces until they slowly morphed into wilfulness and tender love.

She was about to move closer when Alice's eyes snapped open and there was something-something different about them. They weren't empty, they weren't filled with uncertainty, the pain was still present but the tears were there as well as the life.

Eyes wide with hope, she moved until she stood before the woman's bed. Instantly eyes landed on her and recognition filled them.

"Professor," the woman crocked, yet it didn't matter, the sheer fact that the woman recognized her was what mattered. "How — Neville?"

The question had Minerva turning towards her two young Lions. Neville's shoulders had grown tense before he slowly turned to face his mother, hope in his brown eyes that were also filled with tears.

"Mu- mum?" he whispered hope lacing his voice.  
"Where — am I?" came a male voice that had them all turning to Frank who sat in his bed. For a moment he seemed to look around with confusion until his eyes landed on his wife, and they grew wide. "Alice?"  
"Frank," the woman whispered, before her eyes flew to her son, slowly recognition filling them as memories of his visits began to come to the surface. "Neville, my — my baby boy,"

Smiling tearfully, Téa gingerly nudged her friend forward earning an uncertain look from him that had laughter bubbling from her throat.

"Don't look at me like that; I have no idea what you're feeling," she laughed making his lips quirk before he looked back to his mother.

He could see recognition inside her brown eyes, she recognized him. She knew who he was and that, that was a feeling he never wanted to go away. One look to his father gave him the same look even if it was slower.

"Mum – dad," he mumbled before walking over. He didn't have far to walk though as his mother shot out of her bed. Uncaring of her fragile state she wrapped her arms around her son's neck.

Neville had to move quickly, wrapping his own arms around her waist to support her fragile frame.  
Knowing that they best get the healers, Minerva motioned to Téa of her intentions earning a nod of agreement before she moved away.

"My baby, so tall, so handsome all grown up, you're all grown up." Alice continued to sob, body shaking as her face was buried in her son's shoulder.

Neville was taller than she was, even at fifteen and as Frank stood to embrace his son, Téa could see he wasn't overly much taller than Neville. Watching the three of them hug; Téa had to fight back her own tears.

She would never be able to do what Neville was doing right now, but — she had long since accepted that fact. To see her friend embrace his parents and his parents recognize him; it was a sight she was all too gratified to have helped create. Neville may have lost fifteen years of his life with them, but they had the rest of their lives to make up for it.

"Bloody hell you're going to be tall," Frank remarked, as the Healers hurried into the room looked wide-eyed and unbelieving.  
"You can't imagine how many times I've wished for this," Neville mumbled weakly, his emotions on a high. "How many times I wanted you guys to recognize me, to just — know I was your son."  
"Oh baby," Alice whispered with sadness, her hands tenderly caressing his cheeks as he continued to hold her upright. "I am so sorry, so sorry that we weren't there for your life, for everything you've been through. We've missed so much,"  
"Not anymore, you're here now and that's what counts, Merlin I can't believe this actually worked. I didn't even know she was working on this and — you're a little sneak you know that!" Neville exclaimed while turning to Téa who gave him as innocent a look as she could.  
"You tricked me into making this potion — I could have screwed it up!"  
"You didn't," she laughed happy that her friend was getting over his shock.  
"Good lord!" One healer finally exclaimed making everybody look to them. "This is — what — how?"  
"You can ask her," Neville grunted while pointing a thumb at his friend. "She's the one that found the potion."  
"It wasn't my invention, an ancestor created it," she answered with a shrug of the shoulders. "I should go, Nev, give you and your family privacy –" yet before she could complete the sentence, Neville had grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side in a bone-crushing one-armed hug.  
"You're not going anywhere," he grunted into her ear before turning to his parents who were eyeing her with curiosity.  
"You wouldn't recognize her, not with the silver hair but this is Téa, Téaleon Potter," Neville introduced making her cheeks turn red.  
"Leo!" Frank exclaimed a happy tone to his voice while Alice's eyes lit up. "Bloody hell the last time I saw you and Neville were in nappies and you had seized a hold of James' wand turning the entire house green."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," She greeted cheeks burning brighter while Neville snorted with amusement. "Sirius never recounted that story,"  
"Black?" Alice whispered face paling slightly making both teens worry.  
"Sit down mum, you to dad uh many things have changed in the last fifteen years." Neville hurried to say while helping his parents down. "I don't really know where to start."


	37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

_**Chapter 37**_

 ** _Nothing chills like a woman's fury_**

* * *

Augusta Longbottom was quite confused when St-Mungos contacted her. The request to present herself to the hospital as swiftly as she could was both unsettling and unexpected. Still, with all the composer of the Lady of the Longbottom Family, she made her way to St-Mungo's. The hospital looked just as it had from the last time she made the trip.

Unlike the last time though she was greeted by a smiling healer who recognized her.

"Lady Longbottom, I am so pleased you could make it in such a hurry, please follow me." Healer Jackson announced.

Healer Jackson was a pleasant woman; she had greying sun-kissed blonde hair that was often pulled back into a knot, small strands falling here and there. She wore the standard healer garb although a flash of green showed some previous house pride. Healer Jackson was one of her son's primary healers and often spoke with her about his condition.

Walking the halls of the hospital, Augusta tried not to take note of the dull beige tile floor that held cracks and defects. Nor of the dull paint that did nothing to lift the spirits of the patients within their walls or the people visiting. She tried not to but the thoughts filtered through her mind. Hospitals were places where people were forgotten slowly, a place where patients were left to crumble into only a small shadow of their past selves. It was how she felt whenever she visited her son and his wife.

As she was about to turn left though Healer Jackson surprised her and led her to the left. Augusta knew this section; her mother was placed here during her short stay, a private ward. The private ward held an atmosphere completely different from the rest of the hospital. The walls seemed to have been freshly painted a soft blue; the floors were shiny and undamaged, white without a speck of dust seen. Every surface was dustless, and flowers decorated here and there. Art covered many walls and visitors were actually smiling.

It was foreign to be entering the private ward, she had never requested for her son and his wife to be moved here. Why she was being led down its halls was beyond her knowledge.

"Healer Jackson –" She began, but the woman shook her head.

"I cannot answer many of your questions at this time, Lady Longbottom. I have been sworn to secrecy for safety reasons; once we arrive, things will become clearer although I still do not have all the answers." The woman explained before they arrived at a single closed door.

With a soft knock, the woman waited before opening the door and allowing Augusta to enter the room first. The moment she did, the changes to the room was startling. The room was smaller, painted a cheerful soft blue that seemed to brighten the room. An actual window was against the opposing wall from the door, natural light from the sunny day outside filtering into the space. Soft music filtered through the room; not too loudly, rather calming. It was a much more relaxing place, less sterile as well considering the beds in the room looked like actual beds allowing the patients to be more comfortable.

Eyes returning to the bed, she noticed her son and daughter-in-law sitting up. To her surprise, her grandson was seated on his mother's bed, hand gripping her own smaller one. She was about to question him when she truly noticed what was going on.

Both Alice and Frank were smiling, genuine smiles gracing their hallowed faces. Their eyes, once filled with emptiness were filled with life and a light that had long since been taken from them. The moment they seemed to realize she was there, their attention turned to her and her grandson hurried to his feet a large smile gracing his lips.

"Gran," he greeted sounding far happier than she believed she had ever heard him,

"Neville – what is happening?" She questioned, unable to tear her eyes away from her son who was slowly rising to his feet.

"There's been some – special events today Augusta," came the calm voice of a woman she trusted all too well making her vision swim to her right where her old school friend, Minerva stood. "I understand you may have a bit of trouble believing me but the proof is before you, both Frank and Alice have begun the process of recovery."

"I – how – I can't believe that this — Frank? Alice?" The older woman question, attention swivelling back to her son and daughter-in-law. Her son was now standing, shakily walking towards her. He was thin, far thinner than he ever was in life, most of his muscle mass gone because of the years in bed.

"It is us mum," Frank whispered, finally arriving before her.

He was taller than she was; just like his son, yet his smile, his genuine smile was one she would never forget and dreamed of seeing. Against her better control, tears fell from her eyes and with a sob, she threw her arms around his shoulders. Holding him tightly as his own arms wrapped around her waist.

"Oh mum, I'm sorry for the pain we caused you," he whispered into her ear. "You've been such a brave woman and I can't believe everything you've done and gone through. You raised Neville, taking him in when we couldn't. It couldn't have been easy, and I will always be grateful. I just wish you hadn't needed to do it."

"Oh Frank, I would have taken Neville in no matter what, the boy's my grandson!" She sobbed before pulling away and looking up at her son's face, gently caressing it. "How — how did this happen? The Healers said that — you wouldn't ever return?"

"Even healers can be wrong," Healer Jackson remarked amusement in her voice. "But we are not the ones to thank for this miracle. That honour goes to the young lady who found the potion that would help them return to sanity."

"Who?" She questioned, eyes moving from Healer Jones to her son, then to her grandson who smiled and moved aside revealing a girl she swiftly recognized, after all, she had seen the article announcing the girls return to Hogwarts and couldn't help but notice her silver hair that replaced the black the girl once possessed.

"Téa is the person you'll need to ask about that gran, all I did was help brew the potion." He remarked while placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

For her own part, the young witch looked rather shy about the entire affair, cheeks flaming red, hands clasped before her while her eyes were aimed away from her. It was rather amusing, and Augusta would have smiled to show that amusement if she wasn't still shocked beyond her wits about what was happening around her.

"Go on Téa with gran here I think you can explain the entire thing," Neville urged and although she looked nervous she seemed to compose herself and nod.

"Greetings Lady Longbottom," the silver-haired witch greeted before giving a curtsy, a traditional greeting of a pure-blooded witch younger in stature. "The simple explanation would be, I found a potion inside one of my family vaults. Many years ago, I had an ancestor called Thanatos Potter. His younger sister was a potion prodigy, she created a potion that was only needed for one person, and it was personally commissioned by the family to create. This potion was to help bring back a person from a mental breakdown.

The potion was lost in history with the exception being the recipe that was written down in her journal and later placed inside our Gringotts vault. Knowledge of the potion wasn't widely known considering its use wasn't needed with exception to that one time."

"And how – on earth did you come to find this information?" She questioned earning a hesitant look from the girl.

"That I'm afraid is not a subject I can speak off at this time. I'm sorry Lady Longbottom; even with the alliance between our two families, the information is very sensitive." The girl explained, surprising some with her formal tone and response. Even Neville looked curious although he held his tongue.

"For safety reasons – I cannot fault that in these times; I'm assuming that is why Healer Jackson was placed under a silencing protection." She remarked.

"All those who know about it have, we've been brought up to date with recent events. It was suggested by Professor McGonagall's for safety reasons," Frank answered before turning to his old Head of House. "I'm assuming you'll be informing Professor Dumbledore."

"Indeed, I will be as well as a few other people, but we will try to keep this under our belt until you are both in better health. Some people will no doubt drop by to say hello and to see for themselves. Alastor will more than likely wish to see you both, paranoid man he is." The older witch remarked, amusement lacing her voice before she turned serious.

"Please stay on guard, we'll have extra wards placed over your rooms to help in your defence. Miss Potter, although I would like to bring you back to Hogwarts with me, at this time I need to ask you to stay here until I return. I need somebody with a competent ability in defence to remain." She remarked making Healer Jackson frown.

"Are you implying St-Mungos may be attacked, Professor?"

"In the times we are now, an attack is all too possible," Alice answered, her eyes turning sad before turning to Téa who looked relatively relaxed. "Although I am uncertain how wise it would be to have a teenager stay behind as a line of defence. No offence meant Téa,"

"No offence taken Mrs Longbottom," the teen laughed while Neville grinned and shook his head.

"Mum, trust me Téa is one of the top students in Defence and has the most experience with duelling dark wizards," Neville remarked while McGonagall gave a nod of agreement.

"Although in normal circumstances I would not do so. I do trust Miss Potter's ability and as your son stated, she holds the highest grades in Defence in her years and – sadly for the upper years, would give most if not all of them a run for their money. She has also personally faced off against Voldemort in the past and is fully able to perform a Patronus Charm. I will ask you remain in the room, however," she remarked giving her students a pointed look.

"Of course Professor," Téa agreed with a salute that had the older witch giving her an exasperated look before she left.

"Top marks in Defence?" Alice questioned curiously about the information.

"Neville holds top marks in Herbology; it's scary how much he knows about plants." She swiftly remarked pulling the attention to Neville who was blushing darkly at her remark. "And his charms work is brilliant as well, second in our class – right under Hermione I believe."

"Really? You must get Herbology from Alice's side of the family," Frank chuckled as he returned to his bed, legs already tired from standing. "Her father had the biggest green thumb you'd see around, could grow anything."

"I, on the other hand, did not have a green thumb. The Longbottom estate's greenhouse must be beautiful," Alice remarked making Neville smile, while Augusta finally pipped in.

"Greenhouses, thanks to Neville we've been selling ingredients to potion shops in Diagon Alley and other parts of Europe. We had to add three greenhouses." The woman declared a tone of pride in her voice, which made Neville blush.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Settling back in the corner of the room, Téa was about to relax when a sudden unsettling feeling filled her. She didn't know why but something just felt off. Frowning she looked at the door before standing, casting a quick look to the Longbottoms she slipped from the room and allowed her wand to fall into her hand.

She never liked when she felt this way, bad things happened and with the warning from Hades, she was still on edge. Casting a muffling spell on her heeled boots, she crept through the halls until she arrived at an auror laying on the ground, clearly stunned.

Cursing she moved over and dropped at his side. With a quick enervate the auror grudgingly rustled awake looking at her with confusion before his eyes grew wide and his complexion paled.

"Dea- Death Eaters," he stuttered clearly terrified and Téa couldn't blame him, if Death Eaters were inside St-Mungos then that wasn't good.

"How many did you see?" She questioned.

"Two, they – they put something on the wall, they knocked me out. Why didn't they kill me?" He asked sounding confused.

"No idea," she grunted before inching over to the wall he motioned too. Checking the hallway, she made sure no Death Eaters were around before rising to her feet and going as close as possible to whatever they had done to the wall.

Instantly she spotted runes and looking closely, she realized just what had been installed on the wall. They were runes to seal a building if they activated then nobody would be able to leave the building. They'd only do that if they were planning something really big and that would mean something really bad.

Hurrying back to the aurors side, she hurried him to his feet before pulling him with her. Her mind was a whirlwind of information; this wasn't good.

"How many aurors are there on site?" She asked,

"None, I was only here because I was getting an injury looked after." He answered sounding worried. "I'm going through auror training,"

"So you're not even fully qualified, damn right get in that room now," she ordered pushing at the Longbottom's door.

The moment they walked in the group inside looked up in confusion before their eyes grew wide.

"You left the room McGonagall –" "Right now we have more serious things to think about other than what McGonagall told me to do." She shot out stopping her friend mid-sentence while hurrying to the window. She attempted to pull it open only to come short.

Cursing she backed up and aimed her wand, a well-placed reducto though did nothing to the window when it should have shattered it. That was not good; the runes were active that meant they didn't have much time.

"What's happening?" Neville asked worriedly.

"He spotted Death Eaters in the hall; they knocked him out before scribbling runes on a wall, sealing runes. We're not going to be able to get out of this building." She answered making the group pale.

"That – what – does that mean?" Neville whispered while both Longbottom's paled.

"They used this tactic once before, not on St-Mungo's but on a muggle house. They'd seal it preventing people from getting out before – burning it to the ground." Frank whispered.

"That – that means – we would –"

"Mistress – I smell smoke," Attor hissed, making an appearance that had the adult Longbottoms tensing while Téa cursed.

"Attor smells smoke, they've set the building on fire, and we need to get out or do some damage control. Neville, you are brilliant at water charms, I will need your help." She ordered, taking charge of the situation.

"We need to move out of this room," Lady Longbottom declared before motioning to the auror to come forward and help Alice while she helped her son.

Together they hurried from the room, only to be met with smoke. Alarms sounded in the halls, the sound blocked from the rooms for some reason. Heart pounding, she went to move forward only to freeze as she spotted it. A large creature made of flames prowling the halls, a part of a spell she knew all too well.

"Fiendfyre," she whispered voice trembling as Attor slithered around her shoulders.

"Mistress, this isn't good, if it's to the level where creatures are forming that means the fire is out of control." The serpent hissed.

"Right, change of plans Neville, warn as many people as you can, they used Fiendfyre." She called out not sure how this was going to end. "I have some experience with it but – get them away from the flames!"

"Téa! You're not going in there!" Neville shouted, yet she was already off, racing down the hall. If she was going to try to control the damn flames, she needed to get closer in.

The flames spread with ease and it was just through her magic manipulation lessons that she was able to move them away from her. The heat was also getting to her and even from the distance she stood; she could hear screams of terror around her. She needed to act, she couldn't wait and hold out she needed to do something before the entire place burned and everybody in it.

"Stupid message from Hades, why'd did you have to be so cryptic!"

"Mistress!"

"I need to control the flames Attor like you taught me!" She shouted while looking around at the burning building.

She was in the lobby; she saw people laying on the ground, and some burned others bloody. They were dead. She knew that Death Eaters would have killed them when they arrived in the lobby. How Voldemort could think to attack a building filled with innocent people, she wasn't certain, but she had to find a way to stop this – but – she couldn't stop it. The fire was too big, perhaps – perhaps she could restrain it though, hold it to a specific area and away from people.

"I got it!" She exclaimed an idea coming to her mind. She could produce her own flames, using it to shelter the people in the hospital, defend them against the dangerous flames.

Shutting her eyes, she concentrated on her breathing, willing her magic to fill her. She didn't have much time. She had to work fast and pushing her magic she thought about what she needed, it would mean revealing her knowledge of her family magic, but she didn't care. Lives were at risk, and she had the ability to protect them.

" _ **Tutores surgere gehennae flammis animam tuam vivens in urbe praesidio," She chanted her bone dagger appearing in her hand as she slashed at her other. "Tutores surgere gehennae flammis animam tuam vivens in urbe praesidio!**_ " She repeated her magic swelling before it burst around her.

Eyes glowing she felt herself descend into darkness. Unknown to her at that time flames formed circles around each living person inside the hospital and from those circles her figure rose, entirely made of flames she raised her hand stopping the dark flames of fiendfyre, slowly absorbing their power and employing it to defend the people it was meant to harm.

From the outside, Amelia Bones arrived at the magical hospital a look of horror on her face as she watched the building burn with the unmistakable Dark mark above it. It was clear what flames had been used and as her aurors - those experienced enough with the flames to deal with them — moved in to help, she knew — the casualties would be high after this attack.

The smoke that billowed towards the sky was dark, the heat from the flames could be felt even from her position, scorching her skin and the sound. The flames are loud, roars of flamed animals dominating the air drowning out screams and cries for help that would normally be heard in such a case.

"Amelia!" came a cry that had her turning to see a pale-faced Minerva hurrying towards her making her frown yet the next words to come from her mouth had Amelia feeling faint. "Téa and Neville are inside St-Mungo's,"

"What!" It couldn't be true, why would both of them be in St-Mungos when they were supposed to be at Hogwarts!

"Téa found a cure for the Longbottoms. I was gone to Hogwarts to get the Headmaster. I left both of them in the room as a small part of a defence. Merlin Amelia, I must have just left before this all began." The Head of Gryffindor explained jumbling her thoughts into a frenzy of different routes.

Her god-daughter was in the burning building that was St-Mungos, Longbottoms sane -

"MADAM BONES!" Came a shout compelling her to turn only to freeze as she watched what everybody around her was watching.

Rising from the flames was the form of a figure, a woman. Completely made of flames she rose, at first, nothing happened until she began to notice the change in the flames. They were slowly turning from their darker flamed colour characteristic of Fiendfyre and turning into a warmer colour of the truer flame.

"The waters affecting it!" Came as more and more aurors began casting water spells upon the flames.

"Spread out!" Kingsley ordered from beside her. "We need to put that fire out now! There might be trapped people inside!"

"What - was that?" she whispered watching as the woman seemed to hug the surrounding flames, a smile dancing upon her flaming lips.

"She's — I've only ever heard rumours of this," Minerva whispered causing Amelia to turn to the woman, her expression was clouded with shock, amazement and horror. "The Potter family magic,"

"I wasn't aware that the Potters had an affinity with Fire," she remarked curiously.

Of course, she knew each pureblood family had a family magic of sorts, a speciality they were linked to more than to other magical fields. For centuries now, nobody knew what the Potters family magic was linked to, they never gave a hint or if they did, nobody was there to tell about it. If this was genuinely their family magic, then it was the first time it was being used in public for centuries.

"There was a rumour from my school days at Hogwarts, that the Potter family held ties to one of the darker subjects - Necromancy," Minerva explained before shaking her head.

"That is not summoning ghosts or the dead Minerva," She retorted, eyes moving back to the figure only to see that much of the flames surrounding her were gone, both due to her and her aurors.

"No, but it is said only the flames from hell themselves can absorb Fyendfire, nobody truly knew what that meant - until now," Minerva answered eyes hardening before she brandished her wand and moved forward.

Their help was needed and Amelia swiftly followed suit, filing that information away for future consideration as she began casting her stronger water charm.

Within an hour of arriving, Amelia found herself entering a ward of the hospital. The smoke was still thick but a quick bubble head charm gave her fresh air to breathe from. With one auror holding his wand up with the tip glowing, they were able to see the surrounding destruction.

Much of the surrounding walls had crumbled, in their place, thick beams of wood, blacked and charred from where the flames had danced upon their surface evident for all to see. The floor creaked under them as they moved deeper down the hall.

As they turned a corner, a surprising burst of heat hit them once more but as they raised their wands to extinguish it, they froze. The flames weren't the ones from the attack, no the same figure as the large one that had vanished stood feet from them, a circle of flames surrounding a large quantity of patients and Healers, huddled together in fear.

Amelia felt her eyes widen as the flaming woman looked at her. With more clarity to her figure and less smoke in the way, Amelia was truly able to see what the woman would look like if she were a real person and it made her heart beat all the harder.

"Téa," she whispered and with a bow of the head, the flamed woman disappeared, melting away and taking the ring of fire with her.

"Madam Bones!" Came a relieved cry from one of the Healers, "Thank Merlin, I don't know how but those flames - they sheltered us from the others."

"I believe family magic may be in play," she answered trying her best to get out of her shock. "Please follow Auror Jinkins. He'll lead you to a safe spot where a medical tent has been temporarily set up, once you are looked after feel free to help in any way you can. We have beds and chairs set up for patients."

"Thank you - come, everyone," the woman declared relief clear in her voice as she helped lead their patients from the hallway.

"Ma'am, what family would have helped in this?" one of her aurors asked.

"I'm not certain," she lied before moving farther into the building.

As they moved they were met with more and more destruction, worse than before as they moved deeper into the hospital. Just then another ring of fire was revealed as they turned left into the private ward section. Instantly her eyes landed on the pale form of Neville Longbottom yet standing behind the boy looking shaken and confused were patients yet not just any patients stood behind him. The unmistakable figures of Alice and Frank Longbottom stood in stark contrast to the only time she had ever dared visit them.

As the flames disappeared she watched the boy slump with relief as Frank placed a hand on his shoulder a grim expression on his face.

"Amelia?" Came the questioning voice of Alice Longbottom making her heart soar and her throat constrict.

"Alice? Frank?"

"That seems to be the reaction today," coughed another voice that had the group spinning in surprise.

Standing in one of the more harshly damaged halls of the hospital was a single teenage girl, silver hair and skin tarnished with black ash and smock, clothe burnt in some areas. She was leaning against one wall with a hand and had a look of exhaustion about her. Still, she smiled and gave a small wave.

No words could show how relieved Amelia felt, yet with three large strides, she pulled her goddaughter into her arms, clutching her tightly to her uncaring if she was squishing her.

"Sorry for worrying you," the teen whispered into her ear as she leaned into her embrace, arms wrapping limply around her. "That's all I seem to be capable of doing,"

"I'm just so relieved you're okay," she whispered back eyes tightly shut as she tightened her grip slightly. "I was so frightened — when Minerva told me that you were inside I — why do you always get in these situations?"

"I have no clue," she answered before pulling away and smiling up at her, although it wasn't a true smile, it was more a sad plastic smile that looked faker than the ones on dolls. "But you have a job to do. I'll stay close to the Longbottoms in the medical tent, just - the lobby is filled with people, not living people. The Death Eaters entered by their and killed everybody before starting their work in sealing the hospital."

With that, she pulled fully away and slowly walked towards Neville. Her friend hurried to her side, swiftly wrapping her in a hug that she returned before turning and kneeling. Amelia watched as her god-daughter almost fell onto his back, accepting the piggyback ride she was had been offered by the lanky boy.

"Tonks, stay with them," she ordered towards her pink-haired auror earning a nod from the girl who hurriedly joined their side. "The rest of us will make our way to the lobby, anticipate casualties."

Author note:

Well, that took on unexpected turn of events even for myself. I was originally planning a different place of an attack and never planned on doing a following chapter to St-Mungo's. Using the necromancy family powers of the Potter's was also not an the planned list for this chapter but I'm actually really happy I did, and not in a - I summon the dead - sort of way. ;)

What did you guys think? Was it different?

To translate the chanting into English for you though I have this:

Rise Guardians of hell, with flames upon your souls protect the living within these walls. (English translation of my Latin phrase)


End file.
